Evidence
by craftyjhawk
Summary: Temperance Brennan is comfortable with evidence. What happens when there is no evidence to examine? Takes place after "The Wannabee in the Weeds" and veers into AU.
1. The Search

_A/N – Once upon a time, craftyjhawk had a list of Bones prompts in case any of her writer friends needed a little nudge. That was in the days before she was brave enough to write herself. One day, craftyj was looking for some inspiration from her prompt list when a "what if" prompt caught her attention. This story was born from the prompt, but barely resembles the original idea._

_This story takes place after the events of "The Wannabee in the Weeds" and then spins very definitely into AU territory. Enjoy!_

_If you have been reading either "The Results in the Change" or "Captive," don't worry, there will be updates to both of them soon._

_Disclaimer – I don't own Bones or its characters. I just occasionally sneak them out HH's back door when I feel like playing._

* * *

Six days ago, she stood in an overly bright hospital waiting room with the rest of the team as they were told that Booth was dead. The doctor explained that they had done everything possible, but his wound was too severe and he had lost too much blood. Brennan looked at her still blood-covered hands and stopped listening to the doctor. He had nothing more to say that was of interest to her. He had already said too much, way too much.

Angela clung to Brennan, as she sobbed uncontrollably and saying "no" over and over again. Cam stood with her arms hugging herself, off to the side, still not feeling like part of the family, but feeling the loss of her oldest friend deeply. Hodgins moved to comfort his fiancée and found he didn't know how. He stood next to her, with his arms hanging by his sides, feeling impotent. Outwardly, Zack showed no emotion. Inwardly, he was surprised that a mere bullet could take down the larger than life, intimidating agent. Sweets was torn between grieving for the man he admired and observing Brennan's reaction to the loss.

As for Temperance Brennan, she only felt numb disbelief. Booth couldn't be dead. She would feel it if he were. She knew it was irrational, but she felt she would just know if he were gone.

But… the doctor said that Booth was dead.

The team stood huddled together as they absorbed the truth. Their tears eventually slowed, then stopped. As if by unspoken agreement, they left by ones and twos, hugging each other as they said good-bye, until Brennan was left there alone. Angela wanted to stay with Brennan, but she had sent her home with Hodgins. Brennan was unable to comfort her and not wanting her comfort or attention in return. She wanted only to be alone.

She needed to learn how to accept that Booth was dead.

* * *

Five days ago, she buried herself in her apartment, shutting out her friends. She let her calls go to voice mail, ignored the pounding at her door when her friends came to check on her. She sat on her couch, with a bottle of Booth's favorite Scotch, drinking to every happy memory that she had of them together. She wasn't convinced that Booth was dead, it just didn't feel as if he were gone. She knew it was irrational to keep believing that he might be alive. Opting to go with what was rational, she'd given herself one night to mourn, accept his death and tomorrow she would put her life back together. So, she drank, straight from the bottle, to the first case they solved. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and moved on to another memory – spending time with Booth and Parker at the diner or at the Jeffersonian and watching Parker soak up each little piece of knowledge she offered him.

Oh god! Parker. He would grow up without his father. She knew she was no substitute for Booth, but maybe Rebecca would let her spend time with him. She could continue to provide him with enrichment. She didn't acknowledge her selfish motive, that by seeing Parker she would remain in contact with a part of Booth. She told herself it would be a beneficial for Parker. His well-being was of the utmost importance.

She would do anything that she could for Parker, because Booth was dead.

Her decision made regarding Parker, she went back to remembering and drinking, until all that remained was an empty bottle in her hand. Too tired, too drunk to relocate to her bed, she curled up and covered herself with the hand-knit afghan she kept draped across the back of her couch. As she drifted off to sleep, she released her grip on the bottle, which dropped to the floor and silently rolled away.

* * *

Four days ago, she pulled herself together and returned to the lab. Cam had given everyone a few days off. They had no case to be working on, because they had no FBI agent to be working with. That's why, when she arrived at the lab, the only people with her were the security guards. They didn't care if she buried herself in Limbo, the one place where she could just _be_. If Angela were there, she would try to get Brennan to talk, to leave the sanctuary of Limbo, where she felt most at peace, most like herself.

She chose a box at random and began to reverently place the bones on the stainless steel table before her. She settled into her routine of examining the bones, looking for any marks that would help her to identify this victim. The word 'victim' sent her thoughts reeling back to Booth, who had been the unintended victim of Pam Nunan. Nunan had aimed her gun at Brennan, and Booth, ever the alpha male, stood between Brennan and that gun, taking the bullet meant for her. Something she never wanted him to do. Now, she was left trying to accept his death.

She let her mind run through everything that had happened over the last two days, looking for the evidence. She needed evidence to move on, evidence of his death. She hadn't been allowed to see his body. No funeral plans had been announced. She was still waiting for the evidence.

Once she saw the proof, she would believe that Booth was dead.

* * *

Three days ago, she decided to put her money and Max's contacts to good use. She had spent the day looking for the proof. She made phone calls to the hospital, the morgue, even the FBI, trying to locate the information that she needed. Every call was the same – a verbal confirmation of Booth's death, but a refusal to show her the proof. She begged for access to his medical file. She was, after all, his medical proxy and had been for some time. She was told that it no longer applied since Booth was deceased. She asked to be allowed to see his body. She was told that he had been returned to his family in Philadelphia. She requested a contact number for his family and was told that they wished to be left alone to grieve. Stonewalled at every turn, she felt frustration raging through her body and doubt running rampant in her brilliant mind.

With no other option open to her, she called her father. During Max's years on the run, he had amassed a network of less than upstanding contacts. Brennan wanted Max to use those contacts to find the proof she needed to move on. She would pay any amount to be able to move on from the limbo that she had been living in. Max assured her that he would do as she asked and contact her when her had information.

She was counting on him to find someone who could confirm or deny that Booth was dead.

* * *

Two days ago, she called Rebecca, hoping it would be possible for her to see Parker. After getting no answer on Rebecca's landline, she called her cell. Brennan thought Rebecca sounded odd when she answered, as if she didn't want to talk to Brennan. When Brennan asked to see Parker, she was told that they were visiting Rebecca's parents. When she asked to speak to Parker, Brennan was told that he was out with his grandparents. Brennan recognized the statement for the lie that it was. She could clearly hear Parker laughing and playing in the background. Brennan asked Rebecca to call when she returned to DC, so that she could spend some time with Parker.

After Brennan ended the call, she reviewed the conversation. She wasn't very adept at reading people, but she had learned a few things from Booth during their partnership. She had the distinct feeling that Rebecca was lying to her about more that Parker's whereabouts during the call. She examined the evidence from the call. Rebecca was acting oddly enough that Brennan picked up on it. Parker was laughing in the background. He did not sound like a child who had just lost his father. Rebecca seemed to rush the conversation to get Brennan off the phone. Rebecca had avoided committing to any shared time between Brennan and Parker. She would have never admitted it to Booth, but something didn't feel right. Her gut told her that the facts, as she knew them, didn't add up.

Instead of trying to prove it, she decided it was time to question it. Was Booth dead?

* * *

One day ago, Max had shown up at her door with coffee in one hand and a manila envelope in the other. He arrived just as she was preparing to leave for work. Brennan fired off a quick text to Cam to say she would be later than usual on the team's first day back.

She and Max sat at her kitchen table, drinking coffee and discussing what his contacts had discovered. Once again, Brennan was numb with disbelief. The disbelief quickly changed to outrage as she looked through the documents and photos that Max had delivered to her. There were copies of Booth's hospital file. Official FBI documents outlined a secret operation. There were photos of Booth that appeared to be taken from a great distance. His right arm appeared to be in a sling. Another page was a list of calls from a number she did not recognize to numbers that she did – specifically to Rebecca and the Hoover. The last page in the packet appeared to be a very short contact list – Rebecca, Parker, Jared and Hank Booth and Temperance Brennan. The last name, her name, had been crossed out. Spread out before her was the evidence that she sought, but the evidence led to a somewhat unexpected conclusion. Booth was not dead, he was very much alive.

Brennan gathered her outrage along with the pages from Max's "proof of life" pack and took them straight to the Hoover Building and the office of one Deputy Director Cullen. Instead of waiting for his assistant to see if the deputy director was available to speak to her, she charged into his office, slamming the door closed behind her. She dropped document upon document, photo upon photo on Cullen's desk. Faced with the overwhelming evidence that Booth was, in fact, alive, Cullen had no choice but to admit defeat and confess all to the anthropologist.

Cullen thought that when he had finished explaining to Brennan, she would go back to her lab, play with her bones and patiently await Booth's return. Little did he know that she had other plans. She insisted that she be allowed to see Booth. He waived the banner of national security in her face and refused. Brennan defaulted to a strategy that had served her well in the past. She gathered up the pages from Cullen's desk and replaced them in the envelope. She turned to leave his office and, as if it were an afterthought, told him she would be taking her treasure trove of information straight to the closest media outlet and blow his operation right out of the water.

Cullen blustered as he rushed from his desk to his office door to halt Brennan's departure. He reminded her that she was threatening to blackmail a federal official. Her response that it wasn't the first time let him know just how serious she was. Cullen caved. He gave her the address of the safe house that Booth was being housed in and assured her that he would tell the agents protecting Booth to expect her arrival.

With a terse "thank you," Brennan left Cullen's office and the Hoover Building and drove to the Jeffersonian to set into motion the next phase of her plan. She had much to accomplish before the day was done and not much time to do it.

Bypassing her office, she headed straight to Cam's. She intended to tell Cam that she was taking a week off, starting the following day. If Cam refused her "request," she would use another form of blackmail – emotional blackmail – to appeal to Cam's sympathies. Cam surprised Brennan by seeming relieved that the anthropologist wanted to take time off to adjust to her new reality.

Cam's acceptance left only one obstacle in Brennan's path – Angela. At first, Angela refused to believe that Brennan wasn't running away, trying to escape her grief. With Hodgins's help, Brennan was able to convince her that she just needed some time to herself. Brennan promised she was not leaving the country and she would return in a week. After a brief moment where she considered having Brennan sign in blood, Angela decided to take her words at face value and accept her decision. She hugged Brennan and walked away, trusting her friend to keep her word.

Brennan left the Jeffersonian without stepping a foot in her office. Anything needing her attention could wait for her return. She had more important things to do.

Booth was alive and she was going to see him. Booth was the evidence that she needed.

* * *

Her world seemed to have righted itself in the past twenty-four hours. Booth was alive. Max's contacts had found the proof and Cullen had confirmed it.

She took a last look at her apartment, noticed that she hadn't packed her laptop, anthropology journals or anything else that was work related. She was slightly surprised to find that she didn't care. All that mattered was getting to Booth, to see him with her own eyes, touch him with her own hands.

She had the address that Cullen had provided programmed into her GPS, a bag packed with a week's worth of clothes and a full tank of gas in her car. Her destination was Britt's Corner, West Virginia, a small town that was situated near a mountain lake. The pictures she had found of the area showed it to be rustic but very beautiful. It appeared to be an area that Booth would enjoying visiting, under different circumstances. Recovering from a gunshot wound didn't exactly allow for relaxation and recreation. Neither did faking one's own death.

Brennan drove on autopilot, blindly obeying the commands issued by her car's GPS. Fear was her companion as the miles ticked by, her greatest fear being that Booth would turn her away. Maybe _he_ had removed her name from his contact list, didn't want to see her. She sadly acknowledged the possibility. If that was his decision, to tell her to go, she would accept it, as long as she was able to see him first, to verify the evidence for herself. Her happiness, which she was now willing to admit was irrationally tied to Booth, didn't matter as long as he was alive.

Lost in thought, she was startled when the GPS announced that she had reached her destination. Looking through her windshield, she saw a group of four cabins, set back from the gravel road and backed by a perfectly-still lake. There were no vehicles visible, so she assumed they were parked out of view. Verifying the cabin number that Cullen had given her, she lightly push the gas pedal, creeping her car up the road until she was in front of the third cabin. Taking a deep breath and gathering her courage, she slowly turned into the driveway and hoped that Cullen had followed through on his promise to alert the agents to her arrival. She did not relish the thought of being met by drawn weapons.

The adrenaline high that she had been riding since discovering the truth gave out as she put her car in park and turned off the ignition. She was a matter of feet away from seeing Booth, yet she found it difficult to bridge the distance. With her heart racing and the rush of blood pounding in her ears, she forced herself out of the car and onto the path that led to the porch. No one jumped out to challenge her presence as she slowly made her way to the door. Two steps led up to the wrap-around porch and another four paces put her at the door.

Before she could knock, the door was thrown open to reveal the evidence she had been seeking. Booth stood before her, eyes widened in shock, right arm immobilized in a sling, fatigued etched on his face. With the half-smile that made him, Seeley Booth, former Ranger sniper, weak in the knees, she reached out and cupped his cheek with her delicate hand.

Her presence had crippled his rational thought to the point that he could only choke out "Hiya, Bones."

"Booth, you're alive."

* * *

_A/N2 - I know, I know. I'm an evil, evil fic writer. There will be one more chapter in this story. Just have a little patience. And – if you show up at my door with pitchfork and torches, I will turn the hose on you. Let me know if you loved it or hated it in that little review box below. _

_A/N3 - One final note - Britt's Corner is entirely fictional. Britt is a family name and I have been wanting to slide it in somewhere. ~ craftyjhawk_


	2. The Set-up

_A/N – This is not the chapter I had planned. Not even close. It's probably not the one you were expecting. But, it is the one that LMM insisted be written. As a very dear friend told me, LMM is like having a gun, LMM __**always**__ goes first. So, here we are, following LMM's lead. Ten days have passed since we last saw our dynamic duo._

_Disclaimer - Let me check. Nope. Still don't own Bones._

* * *

_Knock, knock, knock_

Dr. Lance Sweets jumped when his office door was thrown open with such force that it smacked the wall and then swung closed just as his two unexpected visitors had cleared it.

"Agent Booth. Dr. Brennan. We've discussed this before. You need to make an appointment. It's not appropriate for you to just barge into my office whenever the mood strikes you. You are not my only patients. I have an appointment in five minutes. I'll see you at your scheduled time tomorrow morning."

Sweets made it to the door to see the partners out before he realized that neither of them had moved from their usual spots on his couch.

"Um, Agent Booth, Dr. Brennan, you need to go. Now." Taking a look at Booth's body language, arms crossed, brow furrowed, knee bouncing, he decided to dial back his tone before Booth took his head off. "Please."

"Don't worry Sweets. This will only take a minute." Booth pulled his stare away from the window just long enough to glare at the kid.

Sweets sighed as he assumed the position, in the seat across from the partners. That's when he took in the totality of the picture the pair presented. Each sat on their established side of the couch. Instead of their usual ease with each other, they sat as far apart as possible, sucked up against the arms of the couch. While Booth's arms were crossed, Brennan's hands were in her lap, clenched so tightly together that her knuckles were white. Instead of knowing looks that they were yanking his chain or sharing a secret that only they knew, they refused to look at each other, with Booth's gaze still firmly fixed out the window and Brennan's anchored to her clenched fists.

"So, uh, what's going on here, guys?"

Brennan lifted her chin to look Sweets in the eye and broke her silence. "Agent Booth and I have come to inform you that we are dissolving our partnership as of today and, therefore, will no longer have to be subjected to your partner counseling sessions." The look of distaste as she said the last few words was so obvious his dead grandmother would have picked up on it.

_Uh oh. Something bad has happened between these two. She called him 'Agent Booth.' That is __**not**__ a good sign._

"Agent Booth, do you have anything to add?"

"No, I think Dr. Brennan pretty much covered it. No more partnership, so no more sessions with you." He shot Sweets a pointed look before looking away again.

_Oh god. This is worse than I thought if he is calling her 'Dr. Brennan.' _

"Well, can you at least tell me why you're dissolving your partnership?" Sweets was trying to catch up to the (non) partners. If he didn't know what had broken between them, he wouldn't be able to fix it. _Wow, Lance, egotistical much?_

"Agent Booth betrayed me and I find I can no longer trust him." She returned to staring at her clenched hands, obviously just waiting for the very uncomfortable meeting to end.

"Bo-, I mean, Dr. Brennan is being stubborn, like a dog with a bone (hehe), and won't let this go." Booth had sat still for longer than Sweets thought was possible, when he went to stand by the windows, arms still crossed, back to the room.

"I don't know what that means," Brennan stated, mostly from habit rather than actually not knowing.

"You know what? The two of you want to talk about this, go ahead. I'm outta here. See ya, Sweets." Booth stormed out of the office, once again slamming the door behind him, leaving a stunned Sweets staring in his wake.

Sweets tried not to think of his book that he would now have to abandon and adopted a conciliatory tone with Brennan, hoping to delve further into the Grand Canyon of discord between his two favorite patients. "Dr. Brennan, would you like to discuss what happened between you and Agent Booth? Voicing your feelings can be very therapeutic." _Why did you say that, Lance? You know she discounts psychology. You might as well have chased her out the door._

As if she had heard his inner thoughts, Brennan rose from her seat, hell-bent on escaping the clutches of the boy wonder before he could pursue the matter any further. "No, I do not wish to discuss this. I'll be returning to the Jeffersonian now. As I will no longer be serving as a consultant for the FBI, I don't anticipate our paths crossing again. Good-bye, Dr. Sweets."

After her departure, Sweets sat with his elbows propped on his knees and his head in his hands in utter defeat. He had no idea where to begin to put them back together or if he even could.

He collected himself and asked his assistant to reschedule the rest of his appointments for the day. He'd already failed two patients. That was enough for one day. He wasn't ready to face any others. In any event, he needed to put all of his efforts toward getting the band back together instead of letting them embark on solo careers.

* * *

After leaving the psychologist's office, Brennan walked purposefully through the corridors of the Hoover, not meeting the eye of anyone she passed. The agents who knew her recognized a pissed off Brennan when they saw one and stayed out of her way. The one rookie agent who was brave (stupid) enough to try to engage her, felt castigated from just a look.

She bypassed the elevators in favor of the stairwell. Waiting for the door to close behind her, she stood on the landing and looked around. Anyone watching her would have assumed she was just looking for a place to have a moment to herself.

"Psst! Up here!"

Taking a step forward, she looked up the stairwell and saw a grinning face looking back at her. She held up a finger, as if to say wait a minute. Confirming that no one had followed her or was watching her, she propelled herself up the flight of stairs and into Booth's arms, her lips colliding with his as he wrapped her in a bone-crushing embrace.

Pulling back when the need for oxygen finally registered, Booth chuckled at the sparkle in her eyes. "Bones, we cannot do this here! Someone might see us!"

"I know, but it's been" checking her watch, "an hour since we were last in close contact. I find that I missed you."

"Aw, Bones, I missed you, too." After a quick kiss on her temple, he continued with the business at hand. "So, do you think he bought it?"

"Absolutely. I looked back as I was exiting his office and he looked very despondent. He believes we have ended our partnership."

Booth wondered if she was enjoying this just a little too much, but then, so was he.

"Good! The kid is going to get exactly what he deserves. Now, you need to get back to the lab and I need to get to my office. You know he is working up the courage to confront one of us about the break-up." After a final mind-blowing kiss, he spun a stunned Brennan around to face the steps, gave her a love-swat on the butt and walked out the stairwell door. Before Brennan could start down the stairs, he stuck his head back in and said, "Hey, I love you, Baby." With a wink, he was gone, leaving Brennan to happily marvel at her changed life.

* * *

Booth saw Sweets walking through the bullpen, straight for his office. Booth mentally rubbed his hands together in gleeful anticipation. _Time to have some fun._

"Agent Booth, we need to talk. Whatever is going on with you and Dr. Brennan can't be so bad that you have to end your partnership. Tell me what's going on. I want to help."

"No way, Sweets, not gonna happen." Booth picked a ball up from his desk and bounced it off the wall a few times. "Don't think you can come in here, shrinking around the bush and get me to talk." Booth continued to toss the ball off his office walls, narrowly missing Sweets's head once or twice.

Worried that Booth might not miss the next time, Sweets pulled the ball from its flight, earning himself a glare as he took a seat. "Agent Booth, you and Dr. Brennan can't begin to work through this until you talk about it. I can provide a safe zone for the two of you to discuss your issues and work through them."

Booth rolled his eyes at the "safe zone" comment. "Sweets, look, you heard what Brennan said. She doesn't trust me. There's no way we can work together like that." _Time to see if he takes the bait._

"Well, maybe you can tell me how she thinks you've betrayed her." _Come on, Agent Booth, just a little more._ Sweets sat forward in the chair, leaning toward Booth, trying to draw the words from him.

_Look, there's a nibble on the line. _"I don't know, Sweets. She'd probably see that as another betrayal." He chewed on his lower lip, as if considering Sweets request. "I guess it doesn't really matter, considering she already doesn't trust me."

"She won't hear anything from me. Whatever you tell me falls under doctor-patient confidentiality." He gave Booth his most reassuring smile. _Come on, Booth, one more baby step._

_Time to reel him in. _"OK, Sweets, but if I find out that you've told her what I'm about to tell you, there will not be a hole deep enough for you to crawl in and hide from me. Got it?"

Sweets nodded eagerly, shocked that Booth was actually going to tell him. _Booth must be really upset if I can get him to crack that easily._

"Here goes. Brennan thinks I betrayed her because she wasn't informed that I was actually alive. She says the she should have been on my contact list." Booth rambled on, as if Sweets were a priest and he was confessing all of his sins. "She was, I made sure of that. I don't know why she wasn't told. She thinks I didn't put her on the list, that I didn't want her to know, which she sees as a betrayal of our partnership. So, now, she doesn't trust me." He looked down and rubbed the back of his neck. He was trying not to laugh, which would ruin their chance at payback. Once he had gotten the urge under control, he looked back up at Sweets. "I was thinking I would ask Cullen why she wasn't told, but I'm not sure it matters now."

Sweets looked calm and collected on the outside, but on the inside, he was in full panic mode. _Oh god! This is because of what I did. I took her name off of the list. I can't admit that to Booth. He will kill me and have Brennan dispose of my body. I better get out of here before he senses that I'm hiding something._

Sweets looked at his watch, "Booth, I didn't realize what time it was. I've got an appointment in two minutes. We'll talk about this later." Sweets beat a path to the door before Booth could process what he was doing and disappeared in the hustle of the bullpen without a trace.

* * *

Brennan was startled by the buzz of her cell phone's incoming text notification. She walked into her office before pulling her phone from the pocket of her lab coat.

_Text message from Booth:_

_Phase one complete. He's probably heading your way. Love you, baby._

* * *

_A/N2 - Not what you were expecting, was it? Me either. Well, the good news is that there is more coming, including what happens at the cabin after Brennan's arrival. If you're enjoying this story, please leave a review in that box below. LMM loves reviews! If you are reading "Captive" and "The Results in the Change," they should both be update soon, starting with "Captive." Thanks for reading! ~ craftyjhawk_


	3. The Surprise

_A/N - Just a reminder - we're not done with Sweets yet. This chapter takes us back to the cabin, to the moments after Brennan arrived._

_Disclaimer: Sadly, I still do not own Bones or its characters. _

* * *

Britt's Corner, West Virginia - Day One

_With the half-smile that made him, Seeley Booth, former Ranger sniper, weak in the knees, she reached out and cradled his cheek with her delicate hand._

_Her presence had crippled his rational thought to the point that he could only choke out "Hiya, Bones."_

"_Booth, you're alive."_

Quickly recovering from his surprise, he grabbed her hand and pulled her into the cabin, closing the door behind them. Before he could question her presence, Brennan crushed him in the tightest 'guy hug' they had ever shared, only letting up when his wince reminded her of his injured shoulder. Three questions – what was she doing there, how she found him and where the hell were the agents who were supposed to be protecting him – flashed through his thoughts before her hug silenced them while he savored the feeling of having her in his arms again. The week since he had last seen her seemed more like a month and he wanted to hold her as long as she would let him.

Minutes passed before reality crept back into her consciousness. She pulled away from him, waiting to see if he would send her home. She still didn't know who was responsible for not informing her that Booth was alive. The possibility that it might have been Booth himself lurked in the recesses of her brain.

"Bones, what are you doing here? How did you find me? No one is supposed to know where I am."

Instead of answering him, she led him to the kitchen table. She pulled Max's 'proof of life' pack from her messenger bag and slammed it on the table. Booth looked at her, almost with a sense of dread, sat down and pulled the stack of pages from the envelope.

Brennan dropped her messenger bag on the floor as Booth began to flip through the pages. She occupied herself by looking around the cabin. Pausing by a bookcase, she spun an antique-looking globe on its axis. On another shelf, she ran her finger down the spine of a model jet that sat among many other models of military fighter jets, none of which she recognized. Looking across the room, she saw various pieces of sports paraphernalia – a football, some kind of baseball mitt, hockey gloves and more. Had she not known better, she would have thought that Booth had decorated it himself. She would have to remember to ask if he had a connection to the cabin's owner.

By the time Booth finished looking through the papers, he had a knot in his stomach. "Uh, Bones, where did you get all of this?"

"Max." Her one word answer did nothing to relieve his discomfort.

"Bones, you were supposed to know I wasn't dead. I promise. See this list, this is the one I gave to the Bureau." He held the list up as proof that he had included her along with his family. He wondered if she had noticed that Cam, one of his oldest friends, wasn't even on the list.

"Yes, you'll see that my name is crossed off." She pointed toward the paper with a slender finger, before crossing her arms across her chest.

"But, that wasn't me Bones. I swear. I didn't want you to think I was dead." He dropped the page back on the table. "You were supposed to know." He knew how he would have felt if he had been told that she was dead. If she felt anything close to that agony, he had a lot to make up to her for.

"Then, who do you think is responsible?" Her face revealed nothing of how she felt, but he could see how tightly coiled her body was. He was afraid the wrong answer might send her running out of the cabin and back down the mountain.

"I don't know, but I'm sure as hell am going to find out." He stared at the list, fingering the page. The more he stared at the page, the angrier he had become. Someone, within the Bureau, had gone against his wishes. As he considered the ways in which that person would pay, he was struck by another thought. "Bones, how did you find me here? The address isn't anywhere in these papers."

"Cullen told me." She said it so matter-of-factly, like there was nothing unusual about it.

"Cullen told you?" Booth's disbelief was evident. "There is no way he would jeopardize this operation by telling you that." He glanced at the pages on the table again, not liking the thought that occurred to him. Rising from the chair, he made his way to Brennan in three strides, got in her face and asked a question he knew he wouldn't like the answer to. "Bones, what did you do?"

"I blackmailed him." She tried to hide the crooked half-smile that crept onto her mouth, but not before he had seen it.

Booth groaned. "Bones, you can**not** blackmail a federal official. We've been over this before. Remember, when you blackmailed me?"

"Yes, but it worked with you." She huffed in frustration. "He refused to tell me where you were, even after I confronted him with all of that." She waved her hand at the paper-covered table. "He confirmed you were alive, but he wouldn't tell me where you were. So, I told him I would take what I had learned to the media. He, what do you call it?" She smiled smugly, "oh yeah, he caved" proud that she had remembered it correctly.

Booth had to laugh at that. She **had** learned a few things during their three years working together. "Still, you shouldn't have done that. C'mon. Let's go sit and talk." Holding his hand out to her, he led her to the couch after she entwined her fingers with his. He sat and pulled her down next to him, keeping their hands locked together.

Booth was still trying to figure out what she was doing at the cabin. Once Cullen confirmed he was alive, why didn't she go back to work at the lab and wait for his return? "So, Cullen told you where I was after you confronted him about what Max found out. Why did you bring Max into this? More importantly, why didn't you believe what the FBI told you?"

"I'd really rather not talk about that right now. Can we just talk about how you got here?" She wasn't ready to talk about the previous week, her hell week, just yet.

"Sure, Bones, just one question first. Did my guards know you were coming? They shoulda been all over you when you drove up, and we haven't heard a peep from them." He had looked out the window when he heard her car drive up and hadn't seen them then. He couldn't believe that they hadn't come to check on him.

"Cullen was supposed to tell them I was coming." She kept her eyes on their joined hands. She loved the contact between them, she needed it, but she wasn't sure what it meant to him. He seemed happy to see her, but she wasn't sure. He hadn't sent her away, so that was good news, right?

"Did you ask them not to tell me? Why wouldn't you want me to know?" Did she just want to make sure he was alive? Was she going to leave? He hoped not. He had done a lot of thinking since he'd been at the cabin. They needed to talk whether she knew it or not.

"No, I meant to ask Cullen to keep it a secret from you, but I forgot." Trying to take control of the conversation, she went back to her earlier question. "So, how did you get here?"

"The short version? When I woke up after surgery, Cullen told me that the Bureau was going to fake my death, but that I could have a short list of people to whom they would tell the truth. As soon as I could be moved, they snuck me out of the hospital and brought me here. Now we're just waiting."

"Waiting for what, Booth? Do you think he'll come here?" She knew her voice betrayed her concern, but she couldn't control it or conceal it. "What if he comes here, Booth? How will you protect yourself? Your injury-"

"Bones, calm down. No, we don't think he will come here. They are supposed to be announcing funeral plans today or tomorrow. Cullen thinks he will show up there. I'm just hiding out here until he's caught. As much as I'd like to be part of the take-down, I just can't do it with my bum shoulder here." He started to shrug his shoulders, but winced when the painful stretch reminded him why he was wearing a sling.

They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. Each had things they wanted to say, but neither knew how or was ready to try. So, they sat, side by side, holding hands, each lost in their own thoughts.

The silence was interrupted by a knock on the cabin door. Booth reluctantly pulled his hand from Brennan's as he got up. Taking a peek out the window, he saw one of his 'guards' standing at the door. Brennan excused herself from the room so that the agents could talk.

Booth opened the door to let Agent Patrick in the cabin. "Hey, Booth, just checking in. Everything okay in here?" Agent Patrick had heard the stories of the bickering partners and was relieved that he hadn't heard yelling as he had approached.

"Yeah, Patrick, we're fine. Although, you could have told me she was coming." Booth glared at the other agent, letting him know that he didn't appreciate being kept in the dark.

"Cullen's orders, man. He told us just to keep an eye on you guys and stay out of the line of fire." Agent Patrick chuckled as he remember the phone conversation with Cullen.

"Yeah, very funny. We're fine. Hang on a second." Booth turned toward the bedroom that Brennan had gone in. He finally had an excuse to ask one of the questions that had been bugging him. "Hey, Bones! Are you planning on staying?"

Brennan walked out of the bedroom looking very unsure. She hadn't exactly wanted to have this conversation in front of a witness. "If you don't mind, Booth, I did think I would stay for a few days." She squared her shoulders, daring him to send her on her way. If that was his choice, she would make sure that he didn't see how much it crushed her.

His relief was plastered across his face in the form of a huge Boothy smile. "Of course, you can stay, Bones. Give Agent Patrick here your keys and he can go get your stuff for you, okay?"

* * *

The rest of the afternoon and evening flew by. They talked, sharing all of the odds and ends that they weren't able to during their week apart. Brennan cooked dinner in the surprisingly well-equipped kitchen, while Booth sat at the kitchen table and kept her company. Once the dishes had been washed and the kitchen put back to rights, the partners went in search of entertainment.

After discovering a board game collection in a closet, the pair finally agreed on one – Sequence. Booth had never played, but she assured him that he would excel at the strategy-based game. Two games down, each partner winning one, but before either of them could suggest a tie-breaker, Brennan struggled to cover a yawn before Booth saw it.

"Bones, you ready to call it a night? You're looking pretty tired over there." If he were to be honest, he was tired, too. He was still recovering from his wound and hadn't done more than watch TV and nap since he had been at the cabin. Spending the day with Brennan, while wonderful, had completely exhausted him.

"I'm sorry, Booth, I am tired. It's been a long day, a long week, really." Brennan reflected on the emotionally draining day, coming at the end of an even more draining week and was amazed that she was still upright. She hoped that she would finally be able to sleep now that she had seen Booth.

"C'mon, Bones, let's get you to bed." His face flushed as he realized what he said and hoped that she didn't think there was a hidden meaning to it. "I mean, you can have the bedroom. This couch has a fold-out bed. I'll take it."

"Booth, you take the bedroom. I insist. You are still recovering. You need to sleep well in order to regain your strength and heal." She gave him a look that invited no argument.

"Alright, Bones, you win. I'll take the bedroom. Do you need anything else out here before I go? There are sheets in the cedar chest under the window."

"No, Booth, I have everything I need. Thank you." She began pulling the cushions off of the couch so that she could make her bed. "Good night, Booth."

"'Night, Bones."

She watched as he walked into the bedroom and closed the door. She had turned back to making her bed when she heard the door open again. Before she could process what was happening, Booth stalked across the room to her, pulling her against his body with his good arm.

Burying his face in her hair, he whispered, "I'm glad you're here, Bones. I missed you."

With a final squeeze, he released her and returned to the bedroom, never looking back.

Because he didn't look back, he didn't see her shocked look, closely followed by what she would have to describe as joy.

* * *

_A/N2 - Thanks for reading, following, favoriting and reviewing. Your interest keeps me going. _

_Just as we aren't done with Sweets, we have more to explore during the time at the cabin. This has grown from a one-shot to an estimated fifteen chapters. So, everyone who was asking for more - here ya go! Please let me know what you think of this take on the aftermath of The Wannabee in the Weeds. Just leave a little review below. Thanks again! ~ craftyjhawk_


	4. The Slow Start

_I am so overwhelmed by the interest in this story. The last chapter generated more favs, follows and reviews than any other chapter I've written, I think. Thanks so much for reading. I feel very honored that you spend even a little time reading one of my chapters. Thank you so much!_

_Now, back to our dynamic duo - _

* * *

Britt's Corner, West Virginia – Day Two

Brennan awoke feeling more rested than she had in, well, more than a week, since the night when her life, as she knew it, ceased to exist. She had slept so soundly that she thought she hadn't moved all night long. Keeping her eyes closed, she stretched languidly, enjoying the slow start to the day. She smiled to herself as she remembered how Booth's hug from the previous night had stolen her breath. That's when she heard it – a low chuckle coming from across the room. Her eyes flew open to see Booth, leaning against wooden support column in the space between the living room and the kitchen.

"Morning, Bones." He smiled as he lifted the coffee cup to his lips and sipped the steaming beverage.

She blushed as she realized that he must have been watching her sleep and then stretch as she woke up. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee caught her attention. She desperately needed some, if only to get on equal footing with Booth, who appeared to have been awake for hours.

Making the decision that she didn't care if he saw her in the skimpy tank top and shorts that she had slept in, she threw back the covers, got up and walked to the coffee pot to pour her own cup. She glanced over her shoulder and saw his appreciative glance as she walked by.

After taking that first, eye-opening sip, she found her voice. "Good morning, Booth. What time is it?" She faced him as she leaned back against the cabinet, smiling as she continued to drink her coffee.

"It's after 10:30, Sleepy Bones. Did you sleep well?"

"I slept very well, thank you. Better than I have in a long time." Neither of them needed her to explain why she hadn't been sleeping. They were both painfully aware. "How did you sleep, Booth?"

"Great, I slept great." He had finished his coffee, so he walked over to the sink and rinsed his mug, leaving it in the sink. "I think I'm gonna go take a shower now. Do you need anything before I go?"

"Booth, don't worry about me. You're the one who is injured. I can find whatever I need. Go on. Take your shower."

Brennan set about tidying the cabin while Booth showered. She returned her bed to its previous couch form. She loaded the dishwasher and wiped down the countertops. She looked through their supplies to see what their lunch and dinner choices were for the day. After completing those household chores, she borrowed Booth's laptop, which he had left on an end table. Sitting at the kitchen table, she began working on the next chapter of her book. Luckily, she had fund a flash drive in her messenger bag to save her work on. She was so lost in the romantic scene between Kathy and Andy, she didn't hear Booth return from the bathroom until he cleared his throat to get her attention.

"Hey, Bones, can you help me for a second?"

"Sure, Booth." She felt like her heart had stopped when she turned around to see what he needed. Her sudden intake of breath, the lump in the pit of her stomach, the dizziness – all signs that she hadn't been prepared for what she saw.

Booth stood next to the couch, dressed in black track pants and nothing else but the bandage on his chest. That visual reminder sent Brennan reeling back to the night her hands were pressed against that wound as his blood seeped between her fingers.

When he saw her normally pale skin pale even more, he made his way to her so quickly that she didn't realize he had moved until he was squatting next to her chair.

"Bones, are you okay?" He brushed a lock of hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. "C'mon, talk to me. What's wrong? Bones, you're scaring me here." As he took one of her hands, he realized she had gone ice cold. He held her hand up to his cheek, trying to pull her attention away from the bandage. "Bones, Temperance, look at me. I'm fine. I'm right here and I'm fine."

Finally, she shifted her gaze from the bandage to his eyes. Her tear-filled eyes nearly broke his heart. He hadn't considered how she would be affected by seeing his wound and now he was kicking himself for putting her through this. As he stood, he pulled her from the chair and wrapped his arm around her waist.

"I'm sorry, Bones, I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking."

He flinched when he felt her hot tears on his bare chest. She began sobbing like her heart was breaking and his was right along with it.

"Oh god, Bones, please don't cry. Please don't. I'm so sorry."

Without realizing what he was doing, he kissed the top of her head as she sobbed. He rubbed her back. He just stood and held her as close as he could with one arm in a sling. Eventually, her sobs slowed, then stopped, and still he held her.

He knew the instant that she realized what she had done. He could feel her walls going up as fast as she could erect them. He knew that next she would try to put some distance between them, but he had no intention of letting her do that. Taking her hand again, he led her to the couch and pulled her to sit next to him.

"I apologize, Booth. I don't know why I got so upset. You shouldn't let me cry on you like that." With her free hand, she wiped away the evidence of her lapse of control, first from her cheeks, then from his chest. He looked down at her hand on his chest and then back up as he tried to hide the look of awe on his face. It was everything he could do not to put his hand where hers had been.

"Hey, it's okay. I should have realized that it would be upsetting to see my wound. I'm sorry. I just didn't think. Forgive me?" He gave her **that** look – the one that he used to get what he wanted, the one that usually worked, even with her.

"It's okay, Booth. I'm fine now." She smiled at him to prove her point. "What did you need help with?"

He grimaced, having already changed his mind about asking her. "Well, uh, I was going to ask you to help me change my bandage, but I'll manage on my own. Don't worry about it."

"I can help. I want to." She was so sincere, he couldn't refuse her offer.

Following his instructions, she cleaned and bandaged his wound, happy to see that it was well on the way to healing.

"If it's okay, I believe I will shower now." Brennan had just realized that she was still in her sleepwear even though it was almost noon.

"Sure, Bones, go ahead. I'll be out in the living room."

Booth collapsed on the couch, slouching with his legs spread in front of him and his head resting on the back. He was struck by how upset she had been. Sure, he had seen her upset, he'd even seen her cry, but nothing compared to the sobs that shook her body as he held her. He could only think of one explanation, but didn't dare let himself hope that it was true. They definitely had to have a talk, but first he had to make sure he brought her walls down again.

He rubbed his hand over his face feeling the scruff that was quickly growing into more than just scruff _(maybe I should shave now that Bones is here)_. When his stomach started rumbling, he decided he would get started on lunch for the two of them. He had just begun searching the fridge and the pantry when Brennan walked into the kitchen.

"Are you hungry, Booth? I thought I would make us some grilled cheese sandwiches and soup for lunch."

"Oh, Bones, you do know how to make me happy, don't you? Grilled cheese sounds great. Thanks. Can I do anything to help?"

"No. Why don't you go find something to watch on TV? I'll let you know when it's ready." She had already turned her back to him and started pulling out everything that she needed to prepare their lunch.

Booth admired the view of Brennan bending over to retrieve a pan from a lower cabinet, with her jeans hugging her curves. He bit his tongue to keep from saying something she might consider wildly inappropriate and turned toward the living room to keep himself from walking up behind her, spinning her around and crushing her lips against his. He definitely needed to find something to distract him from all of the things that he wanted to do to her.

Brennan prepared their lunch, occasionally sneaking peeks at him. His open admiration of her had not gone unnoticed, but she tried to be a little more discreet with her glances. He was still wearing the track pants, but had added a tight faded black tee that only served to remind her of exactly how well formed he was under that shirt.

They ate lunch sitting on the couch while they watched Casablanca. Dirty dishes pushed aside and forgotten, they sat close together, engrossed in the movie, neither realizing when Booth's arm worked its way around her shoulders and pulled her close. As Casablanca gave way to Guys and Dolls, Brennan's head lolled against his chest as she dozed. He scooted slightly away from her so that he could ease her head to his lap. Instead of watching the movie, he watched her sleep, stroking her hair, her arm, eventually sliding his hand down to hold hers. As he drifted off to sleep, he tried to remember the last time he had been so content and couldn't think of a single one.

They woke up to the sound of knocking on the cabin door. She had almost forgotten that they weren't there alone. All thoughts of possible danger came rushing back with the racing of her heart. Reality had rejoined them in the cabin and she didn't like it at all. Judging by the look on his face as he closed the door, neither did he.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, they were checking in. Cullen just called and there still haven't been any sightings of Fuller, the guy they're trying to catch. That means I still can't go home."

Even though she tried to hide it, he saw the disappointment flash across her face.

"No, Bones, I'm not sure what you are thinking, just no. I miss Parker. I can call him, but it's not the same, you know." He sat back down next to her. Crooking his finger under her chin, he turned her face toward him. "I am so happy you are here with me. Don't doubt that. I missed you every bit as much as I miss Parker."

"Oh, okay." She nodded, wanting him to know that she really did understand.

Now that their idyllic existence had been interrupted, Booth decided maybe it was time to broach a topic they had been dancing around.

"I, um, was wondering how you're doing?" At her blank look, he pressed forward. "I know what you had to do that night. You know, after Pam shot me. Cullen told me what you did, what you had to do to save yourself." He saw her walls getting thicker and he couldn't let that happen. "Have you talked to anyone about it?"

She shook her head 'no.'

"You have to talk to someone. Why don't you talk to me, huh?" He nudged her shoulder and gave her **that** smile again.

"I'm fine, really, Booth. I did what I had to do. I didn't even have a chance to think about it." She took a deep breath. It was harder to say the words that she imagined it would be. "I was kneeling next to you, yelling at you to stay with me, applying pressure to your wound. In my peripheral vision, I saw her raise her arm again. I grabbed your gun and pulled the trigger." She tried not to see his blood on her hands as she continued. "I didn't even see her fall. I dropped your gun and turned back to you to continue applying pressure." With a shuddering breath, she stopped. She didn't see a reason to say anything else about it.

"Thanks, Bones."

"What for, Booth? I did what anyone would do. I did what I could until the EMTs arrived." She was confused as to why he thought it was necessary to thank her.

"I know and I'm glad you did what you could to save me. But that's not what I'm talking about." His need to touch her was unbearable. She helped to ground him. He entwined his fingers with hers, needing the contact to continue. "Thank you for saving yourself. I guess I'm trying to say that I'm glad you killed her, otherwise she would have killed you. I can't imagine sitting here, alive, knowing that you were dead."

"I can." She said it so softly, he barely heard it.

"I know. I'm sorry, sorrier than you will ever know." He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. "You know, tomorrow I'm calling Cullen. I'm going to demand that he tell me who took your name off of the list. If he can't tell me, he is going to tell me who can. I promise, I'm going to get to the bottom of this. Whoever did this to you is going to really, really regret it when I'm through with him."

It was another emotionally tough day for them, but they had made it through. He knew that there was still more they needed to talk about, but there was time for that later. He was still stuck in the cabin and he wasn't going to let her leave without him. She just didn't know that yet.

After a late dinner, they agreed that they were ready to turn in early. The sleeping arrangements were the same as the night before. Brennan went into the bathroom to change and when she came out, he was standing just outside the door. Taking a step toward her, he couldn't help himself. He caressed her shoulder, his rough hand sliding across her silky skin.

"Good night, Bones. Sleep well. See you in the morning."

"Good night, Booth." She popped up on her tiptoes, lightly kissed his cheek and all but ran to the living room.

Booth, stunned and smiling, closed the bedroom door behind her.

* * *

_A/N - If you were expecting to see more of the torture of Sweets, never fear, it's coming. The next chapter will be devoted to just that. I have to admit I might enjoy those chapters just a little too much. But it's not like he doesn't deserve it, right?_

_If you haven't yet, please check out my other two ongoing stories 'The Results in the Change' and 'Captive.' And please, let me know what you think of this chapter by leaving a review in that little box below. Thanks so much! ~ craftyjhawk_


	5. The Scared Psychologist

_Hi, everyone! It's time to turn our attention back to Sweets. He's really having a bad day. I don't see it getting better any time soon. To hopefully keep the timeline from getting very confusing down the road, I just want to clarify something. The day that Brennan arrived at the cabin is Day 1. This chapter is a continuation of chapter 2, both Day 10. I'll be labeling days as we go._

_Disclaimer - Still not mine._

* * *

Day 10 - Washington, D.C.

"Excuse me, Dr. Brennan. Do you have a moment to speak with me?" Fearing that her farewell statement in his office was sincere, he had yet to cross the threshold of her office. Instead, he waited to see if she would invite him in.

"Dr. Sweets, I believe I was quite clear earlier when I stated that our paths need not cross again." Brennan still had not looked up from the file she seemed to be engrossed in. What Sweets could not see was that she was biting the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. Booth had warned her not to overact as she had during the Gormogon case.

"Please, Dr. Brennan, I'd like to try to help you and Agent Booth work out your differences. Maybe you can tell me exactly what happened between the two of you." The pleading look that he gave her made him look even younger than usual. His guilt was driving him to fix this, to fix them and he wasn't above begging, if necessary.

"Fine." She huffed as she slammed the file closed and dropped it on her desk. "Five minutes and no more. After that, we are not talking about this again. Are those conditions agreeable to you?"

Considering that he had expected her to use her taekwondo skills and maybe flip him over her shoulder, he would take whatever opening she was willing to give him. "Of course, that is acceptable." He cautiously walked into her office and took a seat across the desk from her.

"Well, Dr. Sweets, I think you will find that you are wasting your time. What is it you want to know?" Brennan used her condescending-I-hate-psychology tone that we was well acquainted with.

_Maybe I can use the same strategy I used with Booth – get her to tell me why he wants to end the partnership. _"Could you tell me why Agent Booth is so angry with you?"

"Shouldn't you just ask him? He is perfectly capable of answering that for himself. I am not privy to Booth's thought process."

"Ah, yes, you're right I should ask him that." _Time for a different approach._ "Then, can you tell me why you feel he betrayed you?"

"I have already explained this to you. If you are just going to keep asking the same questions, I think we are done here."

She picked up the file and pretended to read it. In reality, she was hiding behind it so that he wouldn't see her trying not to laugh. He looked completely defeated as he threw his head back and stared at the ceiling, trying to think of a way to prolong his time with her. He needed to find a way to get the partners back together, because if anyone at the Bureau realized that this situation was his fault, his career was probably over.

"Hey, Bren" Angela paused when she saw Sweets sitting in her best friend's office, "your lying ex-partner has been calling me, trying to get to you. I told him to leave you alone, but I don't think he's going to listen. You know how persistent he can be. Remember the last time you weren't speaking to him?" Angela watched as Sweets's eyes widened at her description of Booth. "Sweets, maybe you can get Special Agent Big Fat Liar to leave Brennan alone."

"Angela, I don't think it's fair to blame Booth for the situation. He said that he put Dr. Brennan on the list. Someone else must have made the decision not to inform her." Sweets felt compelled to defend Booth, who hadn't done anything wrong.

Angela stalked across Brennan's office to get in Sweets's face. "**You** need to leave now. If you are taking his side in this, you need to just go and leave my best friend alone." She took a step back as she pointed at the office door. "**Go**!"

Sweets looked from the anthropologist, who was ignoring him, to the artist, who was glaring at him, and decided that it was past time for him to make his escape. "I'll check in with you later, Dr. Brennan, to see if there is anything I can do to help." With those parting words, Sweets all but ran out of the office and headed toward the exit of the lab.

"Dude." Hodgins voice stopped Sweets just short of the glass doors. "You're brave coming in here. Didn't you get the memo? Dr. B doesn't want **anything** to with the FBI. She exercised the early termination clause in her contract." Hodgins had made his way to where Sweets stood, so that he wouldn't have to yell across the lab. "You can tell Booth that he really screwed up this time. She'll never trust him again. I'd be surprised if she still trusts us. We'll have to work hard to get it back, **if** she sticks around." Hodgins walked back to his workstation shaking his head at the whole situation.

Lance Sweets took a last look around the lab, wondering if he would ever step foot in it again. He exited the lab, not noticing Cam as she walked by him. He was too preoccupied with the horrible mess he had made. He had taken the one thing he knew to be solid, Booth and Brennan's partnership, and destroyed it with one selfish decision.

Cam walked straight to Brennan's office when she entered the lab, joining Brennan, Angela and Hodgins. Brennan dialed Booth's number when Cam arrived.

* * *

"Booth." He barked into the phone, as he always did.

"It's Brennan. I've got you on speakerphone." Brennan looked around her office, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

"So, has Boy Wonder been there yet?" Booth had been waiting to hear the Jeffersonian team's report on their encounter with Sweets.

"He just left. I think we were successful." Brennan looked around at the others as they nodded their heads in agreement.

"Booth, he didn't even see me when I walked by him. He is very worried about this." Cam chuckled at the memory of Sweets rushing by her, totally oblivious to his presence. "I'm not sure the kid will ever be the same, once you're done with him."

"Hey, it's not just me. You guys volunteered to help with this. Do you think he's headed back to the Hoover?"

"That'd be my guess, but he didn't actually say where he was going. He was in a big hurry to get out of here." Hodgins spoke up. "You should have seen his face when I told him that Dr. B had terminated her contract. I've never seen anyone look so devastated."

"Great! Sounds like we're ready for phase three. Hey, Bones, can you take me off speaker? I'll talk to the rest of you later."

Brennan did as he asked while the rest of the team left her office, with Angela closing the door behind them.

"They're gone, Booth." Brennan spun her chair around so that her back was to her office door.

"I miss you. I got used to spending all of our time together." Booth also had his back to his office door. He didn't want anyone in the bullpen to see the huge smile on his face as he talked to the woman he loved. He was supposed to be heading toward a downward spiral, not looking like everything in his corner of the world was perfect. "So, are we still on for tonight?"

"Yes, you're coming to my apartment, right? I'm planning on picking up Thai food on the way home."

"Yep, I'll be there. I better go make that phone call to get phase three started. Love you, baby." He still hadn't gotten over how good it felt to be able to say that out loud.

"I love you, too. I'll see you tonight." Brennan smiled as she hung up the phone. She couldn't remember a time when she had been so happy.

* * *

Sweets sat in his office trying to figure out where everything went so incredibly wrong. He never meant for any of this to happen. He just wanted to force Dr. Brennan into facing her feelings for Booth. He had been sure that once she knew Booth was really alive, she get over his 'death.' Why had he thought that? Brennan didn't just 'get over' anything.

Sweets was so lost in his thoughts that he jumped when his phone rang. He looked at the offending object with dread, nothing good could come from answering it. He was stuck in an unending day from hell. However, when he saw who was calling, he flipped his phone open and answered it.

"Dr. Sweets. It's Deputy Director Cullen."

"Yes, sir." Sweets paused, trying to remove the squeak from his voice. "What can I do for you?"

"I just had a very disturbing call from Agent Booth." Cullen's stern tone of voice made Sweets flinch. _It's official, my day just got worse. _"He informed me that he and Dr. Brennan are terminating their partnership. Were you aware of this?"

"Uh, yes sir. They informed me of their decision earlier today. I assumed you already knew." He actually hadn't given a thought to Cullen, but he couldn't let his boss know that.

"I need you to fix this. They are too valuable to the Bureau to let this happen. Booth informs me that Dr. Brennan wasn't told that we were faking his death. I need you to find out who is responsible for screwing that up. Get back to me when you have a name. There will have to be some kind of disciplinary action for disobeying my directive." Cullen paused, letting his words full register with the psychologist. "I expect to hear from you very soon."

Sweets was left staring at his phone after Cullen ended the call.

_Oh god, what am I going to do? I definitely didn't think this through. I need to talk to Booth again._

Sweets looked at his watch. Seeing that it was well past six o'clock, he knew that Booth had probably left for the day. He would go to Booth's apartment and try to talk to him again. He had to find a way to fix this or he would probably be out of a job. Sweets didn't bother shutting off his computer or office lights before he ran out the door. He felt like he had the hounds of hell on his heels and they were gaining on him fast.

* * *

Booth had just parked his SUV in Brennan's visitor space when his phone chirped. He thumbed it open as he juggled opening the door and grabbing his overnight bag.

_Text message from Sam Cullen: Phase three complete. Glad I could help._

While he rode the elevator to Brennan's floor, he pictured Sweets's reaction to Cullen's call. He wished he had seen it.

Brennan must have heard him putting the key in the lock, because before he could turn it, she threw the door open and pulled him in. Booth kicked the door closed behind him and dropped his bag. When Brennan wrapped her arms around his neck to kiss him, he picked her up, spun her around and pinned her to the door.

"I have been wanting to do this all day long. God, I missed you." He leaned into her, her soft body molding to his hard body, and captured her lips, teasing them open with his tongue, swallowing her moan at the contact. In the space of that kiss, all thoughts of fake death, Sweets and revenge plots faded away. All that mattered was the love between the two people who were slowly making their way to her bedroom, undressing each other along the way.

* * *

_A/N - Thanks to everyone who has been reading from the start or just found this story. The response from the last two chapters has blown me away. Really, guys, you've been amazing with the favs, follows and reviews. Thanks to dgschneider for the beta, as always._

_According to my outline, this story should end at chapter 13, with an epilogue to follow. I have a plan! (huge deal for me!) ~ craftyjhawk_


	6. The Spilled Secrets

Britt's Corner, West Virginia – Day 3

Booth awoke to the smell of pancakes and bacon the next morning. He smiled when he realized that Brennan was making breakfast for him. He pulled on a t-shirt and a pair of sweats and went to see if he could help her. Walking up behind where she stood at the kitchen counter, he wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Morning, Bones."

One look at the shocked expression on her face made him realize that he had momentarily forgotten himself. They didn't have that kind of relationship, not yet, anyway. He hoped that would be changing soon, very soon. He stood up and took a few steps backwards, giving her some space.

She didn't dare turn around to look at him. She was sure that her face was bright red from embarrassment, not because of what he had done, but because of how much she enjoyed. He obviously didn't mean anything by it, judging by how fast he had released her and stepped away.

"Good morning, Booth. Are you hungry? This is almost ready. Would you like some orange juice?" She paused long enough to hear him say "yes" before barraging him some more. "Did you sleep well? Do you need help changing your bandage? Is there anything else I can get you?"

He stepped toward her, placing his free hand on her shoulder and giving it a squeeze.

"Bones, take a breath. You haven't given me a chance to answer your questions. Is everything okay?"

"Yes, I am fine." She didn't look him in the eye when she answered.

Booth recognized the signs. Brennan needed some space, so he dropped his hand from her shoulder and stepped away from her again.

"Good. In that case, let's eat. This all looks and smells delicious." Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her relax and knew he had made the right move. "Do you need me to help you with anything?"

"No, just go sit down. I'll bring everything over to the table." The table was already set for the two of them. She carried plates piled with pancakes and bacon to the table before returning to the fridge to grab the orange juice and a bowl of fruit.

Their conversation while eating was ordinary small talk. They were both avoiding his upcoming phone call to Cullen. They wanted to know who had made the decision to exclude Brennan from the list, but weren't sure what they would do when they had the information. Booth's gut reaction to maim or kill wasn't possible, but he felt the guilty party would have to suffer some kind of consequence for the hell he had put Brennan through. Brennan just wanted to know, to be in possession of all of the facts.

After breakfast, they cleaned the kitchen together, then took turns showering and dressing for the day. Brennan sat at the table with Booth's laptop, checking her email. Booth had gotten a secure cell phone from Agent Patrick for his daily call to Parker, but first he needed to make the phone call to Cullen. He dialed the number and waited for his boss to answer.

"Sam Cullen."

"Sir, this is Booth."

"Booth! How are things going there?" Cullen seemed pleased to hear from his favorite agent.

"Things are fine here, sir. I have a question for you." Booth dreaded asking, but they needed to know the answer.

"Sure, go ahead."

"Sir, could you tell me why Dr. Brennan was not informed that I was not dead?"

"I had a feeling that I would be hearing from you about this." Cullen felt bad about the way things had been played out and thought that Booth deserved to know the truth. "I'm sorry for how poorly this was handled, Booth. I should have questioned why she was removed from the list. At the time, I was more concerned about your safety and flushing Fuller out into the open."

"I understand that. If you didn't make the decision, then who did?" Booth's patience was starting to run out.

"That would be Dr. Sweets." Cullen waited for the explosion that he was sure was coming, but never did.

Booth steeled his expression, not wanting to give anything away to Brennan just yet. "Could you repeat that? I'm not sure I heard you right."

"Booth, you heard me. It was Sweets. I gave the list to my assistant, Hazel, with instructions to give it to Sweets. I thought it would be better to have him make the notifications rather than an agent. When the list was returned to me, Dr. Brennan's name had been crossed off."

"So, he made that decision without your approval." Booth's jaw was clenched as his anger simmered just below the surface.

"Yes, he did, but I should have followed up on that." He paused, unsure if he should ask what was on his mind. "How is she doing now? She seemed to be at the end of her rope when I last saw her."

"Better." Booth knew that Brennan was only pretending to be focused on the laptop screen. In reality, he knew she had been listening to every word that he had said, which is why he had been very careful with his questions and responses. "Sir, about Fuller. Any word yet?"

"Nothing yet, but the funeral is the day after tomorrow. That should draw him out. Then you'll be able to come home."

Booth liked the sound of that. He was more than ready to return to DC. "I just have one more question, sir. Is he aware that you know who took her name off the list?"

"Not as far as I know. I haven't discussed it with him. Why?"

"Just curious. Thank you for your help, sir. I'll let you get back to work now."

Booth disconnected the call and looked at Brennan. He had kept his anger in check while speaking with Cullen, but could no longer. Thinking better of throwing the phone or punching a wall, he let loose a stream of profanities that would have made his Ranger buddies proud.

"Who was it, Booth?" She stood and walked to him, wondering who could have caused such a strong reaction in him.

"Damn! I should have seen this coming." He dropped the phone on an end table and clenched his fist a few times, still fighting the urge to punch something. "It was Sweets! Cullen wanted Sweets to be responsible for making the notifications and Sweets decided that you didn't need to know."

"Sweets? Why would he do that?" She grew quiet as she analyzed the situation. She had assumed that it had been a random agent who didn't know them making the decision. She didn't understand why someone who knew her and Booth, who had observed them – "That's it! I know why he did it. He wanted to observe my reaction. We told him he could observe us and that's exactly what he did."

"This was an experiment to him? I am going to kill him!" Booth eyes were blazing with fury as he paced the room with no outlet for his anger or his excess energy. "He is not going to get away with hurting the woman that I lo-"

Booth stopped pacing and cut his eyes over to Brennan, hoping that she didn't realize what he had almost said. If the shocked look on her face was any indication, and it was, she knew exactly what he had almost confessed. Afraid that she would let her fear get the better of her and run, he walked to her and took her hand.

"The woman that you what, Booth? What were you going to say?" She sounded calm, but her heart was racing at light speed.

"Damn it, Bones, this is not how I pictured this discussion." He sighed, bracing himself for her reaction, which he was sure to be something close to Hurricane Brennan. "The woman I love, Bones. That's what I was going to say. I love you." He was glad he had had the foresight to take her hand before he said the words out loud. He felt a slight tug as she tried to pull away, but he kept her anchored in place. Keeping his eyes on hers, he watched as she seemed to go through a whole range of emotion in just a few seconds.

"C'mere, Bones." He pulled her into his chest and wrapped his arm around her. "I'm feeling really lost here. You need to tell me what's going on in that beautiful brain of yours."

With her head pressed to his chest, she could feel that his heart was racing right along with hers. "When I thought you were dead-" He flinched, imagining what she had gone through caused him an almost physical pain. "I was very confused. I didn't understand why I couldn't just compartmentalize your death. If you were only my partner, I should have been able to deal with it and move on. I wasn't able to do that." She pulled away just enough to look into his eyes. "I realized that I couldn't move on because I was in love with you. I was devastated because I, no, because we had missed our chance to be together."

She gave him one of the biggest smiles he had ever seen from her. "We didn't miss our chance, did we?"

He answered her the only way he knew how. Tightening his arm around her, he dipped his head toward hers, lightly placing a kiss on her lips. "No, we didn't miss our chance." His mouth returned to hers, a deeper, longer kiss this time until the need for air forced them to pull apart.

"You really love me?" She had always had a hard time believing anyone could love her, but especially this man who deserved so much more than she could offer.

"Yes, Temperance, I love you." He couldn't believe that the words hadn't sent her running toward a third world country to identify victims of genocide or the remains of an eleventh century warrior of some kind. "So, you love me too, huh?"

His wide-mouth grin was so full of childlike joy she had to laugh. "Yes, Booth, I love you, too."

Probably for the first time since arriving at the cabin, Booth was glad to be in his own, isolated little world. It meant that he and Brennan could spend the day together without the threat of friends, family or murder interrupting them. Instead, they spent the day talking, holding hands, and kissing. A lot of kissing. At one point, Booth thought they resembled a couple of teenagers making out on Mom and Dad's couch.

"I can't wait to get rid of this sling. I want to be able to put both of my arms around you." Booth was frustrated by the limitations his injury put on him. "You know, I'm only supposed to wear it a few more days. What can it hurt if I take it off now?" He was reaching for the strap behind his neck when Brennan put her hand on his arm to stop him.

"Booth, you have to leave that on. Four or five days is not a "few" days. You need to follow your doctor's instructions."

Booth rolled his eyes at her 'letter of the law' attitude, but didn't argue with her. Instead he wrapped his arm around her and tucked her in as close to him as she could get.

"Hey, Bones, we need to talk about this. About us. We are "us," right? I can't go back to what we were before." He was glad she couldn't see his face. He was afraid that his intensity would be too much for her. He was already putting his heart on the line. He just hoped that she was, too.

"Are we in a relationship? Yes, I hope we are. That's what I want. I don't want to miss out on us." She felt him release the breath he had been holding. She realized that he was as nervous about this as she was.

"One more thing, Bones. I want to take this slow. I don't want to ruin what we could have by jumping straight into bed. Are you okay with that?"

"While, in the past, I might have entered into sexual relationships in haste, I find that I don't wish to do that now. I would like to, as you say, take it slow."

Booth nudged Brennan so that she would look up at him. "So, when we get home, you wanna go out on a date with me?" He waggled his eyebrows at her, something she had only seen him to do other women. She had underestimated the effect it would have on her. She felt her cheeks flush in response to him.

"Yes, I would love to go out with you when we get home." She countered his waggle with her half-smile, wondering if it would have any effect on him.

It had been another emotional day, but in such a good way. Any doubts that they had were erased. They seemed to be on the same page for the first time in the four years they had known each other.

Neither of them had to verbalize the fact that sleeping arrangements would remain as they had been the previous two nights. The one change in their new nighttime routine was the lingering kiss that neither wanted to end before they went to their separate beds.

"Good night, Bones," he whispered against her ear.

"Good night, Booth," she said against his neck.

* * *

_A/N - Thanks for the major response to the last chapter. It was so overwhelming! Thanks to my beta, dgschneier, as always. According to my outline, there are seven chapters plus an epilogue left in this story. It's been so much fun putting the screws to Sweets. If only HH&Co had done the same... Oh well, that's what fanfic is for, right? Thanks for reading! If you have a free moment, check out my new series of one-shots, 'Two Step Across the Line.' ~ craftyjhawk_


	7. Serendipity

Britt's Corner, West Virginia – Day 4

Brennan woke up the following morning to fingers, lightly brushing her hair off of her face. Before she could open her eyes, she felt light kisses on her forehead, her nose, her lips.

"Wakey, wakey, Bones." He waved a mug of coffee under her nose for extra incentive.

"Mmm, I could wake up like this every day." She sat up, taking the mug from him and took a long sip.

"How? By me kissing you awake?" He flashed his patented Booth charm smile at her.

"I meant coffee in bed." She laughed at his crestfallen face.

"Well, if you just want the coffee, I'll be going now." He rose from his seat on the edge of her bed before she reached out and grabbed his shirt.

"Of course, I meant your kisses. Those are definitely worth waking up for. The coffee is just a bonus." She pulled him toward her and gave him her own good morning kiss.

They had settled into a comfortable routine during their time at the cabin. After breakfast, showers, etc., they found themselves back on the couch, snuggled together and looking for a movie to watch. They had discovered a few classic movie channels early on and checked those first before deciding.

"What's it going to be, Bones? _An Affair to Remember_ or _Rear Window_?"

Before Brennan could answer, they heard the sound of gunfire and glass shattering. Booth used his good hand to push her to the floor and covered her body with his. Instinct was to reach for his weapon, which he didn't have. They really hadn't been expecting trouble at the cabin. The agents assigned to him were more of a precaution than anything. Now, he was going to have to rely on them to deal with whoever was firing at them.

"Bones, we're too exposed here. Crawl over to the bedroom and go into the bathroom. I'll be right behind you."

He rolled away from her so that she could do as he said. He was thankful that, for once, she chose not to argue with him. She started toward the bedroom and he followed as well as he could with his injury. As he reached the threshold of the bedroom, another shot rang out, another window pane shattered and a bullet embedded itself in the door frame two feet above his head.

He got to his feet and nearly ran the short distance to the bathroom. Kicking the door closed, he pulled Brennan against him. He could feel the tremors that shook her body and he tried to calm her.

"Baby, I'm right here. I've got you. We're going to be fine. Patrick and the other agents are going to take care of this." He kept rubbing her back and kissing the top of her head, trying to remind her that he was right there.

Brennan jumped as a volley of shots, that Booth assumed came from the 'good guys,' sounded. After a few minutes of silence, they could hear one of the agents yelling "Clear!"

He pulled away and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "You ready to go out there? It sounds like they have things under control now."

Taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly, "Yes, I'm ready."

Taking her hand, he led her back out to the living room where they found two agents waiting for them.

"Was it Fuller?" Booth barked at the agents. One of them nodded with a sheepish look on his face. "How did he find us here? Any ideas?"

The agents looked anywhere but at Brennan.

"Booth, I believe what they are trying not to say is that they think Fuller followed me here." The thought that her presence had put him in danger made her feel sick. Once again, he could have died. She needed to escape the knowing looks of the agents. Turning on her heel, she walked out the back door to the porch with a beautiful view of the lake and collapsed into one of the rocking chairs there.

Booth watched with sadness as his partner walked away. As much as he wanted to follow her, to comfort her, he stayed put. She needed time to think and he needed to deal with the events of the morning.

Hours later, after the crime scene techs had left, after Fuller's body had been taken away, after Booth and Brennan had given statements to the agents, he made his way out to the porch. He had checked on her throughout the day, taking her coffee, lunch, his laptop and anything else that he thought she might need. Finally, they had the cabin to themselves again. He sat down in the rocking chair next to her and took her hand.

"How you doing there, Bones?" He rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand.

"I'm fine." She didn't quite hold back the sigh trying to escape.

He recognized it for the lie that it was, but didn't push her on it yet. "I talked to Cullen. I told him that we would head back to DC tomorrow. He's canceling the 'funeral.' I told him that I didn't want any of our friends to have to go through that, especially when there is no reason for it."

"That's good, but what reason will he give for the cancellation?"

"I don't know and I don't care. I told him we would responsible for telling the squints. Cullen agreed to keep it quiet for a few days. I don't want anyone to learn I'm alive from a news report." He brushed some hair away from her cheek. "Are you hungry? We could run into town to eat, if you want. There's a little place that doesn't look like much, but the food is great."

"Do you mind if we stay here? I don't think I am ready to deal with other people just yet."

"Sounds good to me. Let's go see what we've got."

Standing up, he took her by the hand and led her back into the house. They were walking toward the kitchen, when Brennan just stopped walking. Across the room, she saw boards covering the windows that had been shattered earlier in the day. Reality came crashing down as she realized how close they had been, he had been to getting shot again.

"You could have been killed today and it's my fault. Fuller followed me here. My presence put you in danger." She wiped a stray tear from her cheek.

"No, no, no, Bones. Just no. It wasn't your fault. Fuller has been here for at least a week." At her shocked look he continued. "A couple of the agents went door to door, just to see if Fuller had been seen by anyone. They found where he was staying, in a cabin across the lake. Inside they found receipts and newspapers giving them a timeline." He lifted her chin so that he could see her eyes. "Look at me. This is not your fault. He had already found me. The Bureau is trying to find out how, but I'm not going to worry about that tonight and neither are you. C'mon, I'm hungry. Let's find food!" He spun her by the shoulders and gave her a little push toward the kitchen followed by a swat on the butt.

She glared over her shoulder at him and he laughed. He knew he was probably due for payback, but if it brought his feisty Bones back to him, it was worth it.

Working together in the kitchen, they threw together a stir fry for dinner. As they sat at the kitchen table to eat, Booth looked around and shook his head in disgust.

"Look at this place. Ralph is going to be pissed." He was dreading having to make that phone call.

"Ralph?"

"Ralph Britt. He owns these cabins."

"Britt? As in Britt's Corner?"

"Yeah, his family has been here for generations. He's my former CO. I'm not clear on the how, but he's one of Cullen's good friends. When Cullen had to throw this operation together so quickly, he called Ralph to see if the cabins were available."

"When I first arrived, I thought the décor looked like something you would do. Maybe the shared military background explains that." She looked around the cabin again. "Many of the items he has here would fit right in at your apartment."

"He has a few things here that I would love to have." He stacked their dinner plates and carried them to the sink. "You go relax and I'll clean up in here. No arguments."

Knowing when she was beaten and too tired to fight in any case, she went out to the living room and laid down on the couch. Curling up, she was soon asleep, the stressful day catching up to her. It took a while for Booth to clean the kitchen one-handed, but he managed. When he was finished, he went to join Brennan in the living room and wasn't surprised to find her sleeping. Moving carefully, hoping to not disturb her too much, he lifted her feet, sat down and put her feet in his lap. He grabbed the remote, muted the TV and flipped channels until he found ESPN. He decided to take advantage of Brennan's nap to catch up on scores from the day. Unconsciously, he began rubbing her feet. He snickered as he found a ticklish spot. This was something that he loved, learning new things about her. Even better, he knew this was just the beginning. He would have a lifetime to learn about her.

He started getting a little bored when the scores began to repeat. Using his newly acquired knowledge, he tickled Brennan's foot, trying to wake her up. At first, she just moved her foot away, but he chased it. After more tickling on his part, she started to kick his hand away. Seeley Booth is nothing if not persistent. Her sleepy movements were no match for him. He trapped her foot against the back of the couch and tickled until she started to rouse.

"Booooth." She whined. He was shocked. He had never heard her whine. He hadn't known it was possible.

"C'mon, Bones. Wake up. I'm bored." He knew he probably sounded like Parker, but he didn't care. They were returning to DC and real life the following day. He wanted to make good use of the time they had left at the cabin.

She smiled as she stretched, her tank top riding up, exposing her smooth skin. She opened her eyes to find Booth staring at that strip of skin, eyes darkening with desire. They had agreed to take things slowly between them, but that was proving to be easier said than done. Reaching out, he stroked her skin with the back of his knuckles. Her sharp intake of breath broke his trance. Instead of pulling his hand away, he turned it over, placing his palm on the exposed skin and sliding the tips of his fingers under the hem of her top. He knew he was crossing a line. He knew he should pull his hand away. But, looking in her eyes and seeing the same desire that he felt, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

She was completely mesmerized by his expression. Yes, there was desire in his eyes, but she also saw love and an almost reverence as he touched her. If he had picked that moment to pull his hand away, she was sure the loss would be agony. She needed to touch him, but he was just out of her reach. As if sensing her need, he slid his hand across her flat stomach and around to her back. At the same time, he shifted her feet from his lap and stretched out along the length of her, using the hand at her back to mold her body to his.

She reached out and caressed his cheek before sliding her hand around to the back of his head, pulling him toward her. Her eyes closed as he breached the almost nonexistent distance between them. When she felt his lips lightly brush against hers, she was lost – lost in the sensation, lost in the emotion, lost in him.

That kiss was light and it was brief, but it said so much. Many times over the years, their team had commented on the silent conversations they seemed to have, their eyes saying what their words couldn't. In the moment that followed that kiss, they reached a silent agreement. There would be no takings things slowly. One or both of them could have died that day. It was another reminder in a long, long line of reminders that life was precious and not to be wasted. They were finally in the same place on the same page and from this point on they would only be going forward together, no looking back, no more regrets.

Booth pulled away long enough to stand and pull her off the couch and into him. Taking her hand, he led her into the bedroom. He dropped her hand and he reached behind his neck to pull the strap of his very inconvenient sling over his head. Before he could grab it, she was on her tiptoes so that she could remove it for him. He watched as she tenderly slid the sling off of his arm before doing what he had wanted to do from the moment he opened the door to find her standing on the other side. As soon as she dropped the sling to the floor, he wrapped both of his arms around her, just holding her close. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and absorbed the feel of her, the scent that was uniquely her, the sound of her sigh of contentment.

Before long, just holding her wasn't enough. He blazed a trail of kisses along her neck and across her shoulder, slowly pushing the straps of her tank top and bra out of his way. He felt like he had been waiting his whole life to do this and he planned savor each second. He was so focused on memorizing every inch of her, he barely noticed when she pulled his shirt over his head. Wrapping his arms around her once again, he lifted her off the floor and walked them over to the bed. Setting her feet back on the floor, he realized that he felt no pain from his injury. He didn't know if it truly didn't hurt or if it was because of all of those brain chemicals that Bones was always talking about. That was his last rational thought before he let himself just feel.

They took their time as they slowly undressed each other – her shirt, his jeans, her jeans. She learned the location of and kissed each one of his scars, wishing that he hadn't had a life so filled with pain. He learned that she could be extremely ticklish one moment and then melt under his touch in the next.

The slow build had only added to their anticipation. Lost in need, ready to take that final step, they shed their remaining barriers. When they finally came together, he proved he had been right all along. It was possible to break the laws of physics, for two people to share the same space at the same time. To her great delight, he proved it to her over and over again that night.

* * *

_A/N - Is it wrong to say that I'm overjoyed with the response to this story? If it is, then too bad. You guys are amazing! I really, really have to thank dgschneider. Without her help and, let's face it, hand holding, the last third of this chapter never would have been written. In my very brief writing career, this has been by far the most difficult chapter for me to write. I really hope it was everything you wanted it to be. Well, almost everything. ;-) Thanks again! ~ craftyjhawk_


	8. Reunions and Revenge

Britt's Corner, West Virginia – Day 5

Booth felt someone staring at him from the moment he woke up. Cautiously opening one eye, he found himself looking into the blue depths of his partner's eyes.

"Good morning, Booth. Did you sleep well?" Brennan gave him a seductive smile that he had never seen on her.

"Actually, Bones, I didn't really get that much sleep. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" He saw her seductive smile and raised her an eyebrow waggle.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She smiled again as she turned to get out of bed.

Grabbing her by the waist, he pulled her across the bed, holding her back firmly to his chest. "Come back here. I think you need a reminder." She melted under the kisses that he placed on her ear, her neck, her shoulder and down her back.

"Mmm, I think it's coming back to me" she turned to face him, "but don't stop now."

He had no intention of stopping.

* * *

They had just finished washing their brunch dishes when reality intruded on their solitude.

"You know, we have to go home today." He hated to mention it, but if they were going be home in time for him to see Parker, and that was their plan, they needed to leave shortly after lunch. Watching her face fall almost made him want to take it back.

"I know, but I wish we could stay here. I don't have to return to work for a few more days. I'd like to spend them here. Alone. With you."

"I know, baby. I do, too. But I want to see Parker. He needs to see me to know that I'm really alright."

"I know you're right. Let's get things cleaned up in here, then we can pack and leave."

They finished cleaning the cabin, packed the car and headed back to DC. On the drive back, they decided that they would stay at Booth's apartment. Booth planned to call Rebecca when they got back so that they could see Parker. Booth hoped that Rebecca would let him stay the night. Unfortunately, with Rebecca, he couldn't always count on her to be reasonable. Brennan would call the squints, except Zack, and have them come to Booth's apartment the next day. They had decided to let them see for themselves that he was alive rather than telling them over the phone. They would tell Zack later because they didn't plan on including him in the revenge plot against Sweets.

* * *

Brennan looked through the peephole before opening the door to Rebecca and Parker. She was almost knocked over when a blur of blonde curls ran and threw his arms around her.

"Hi, Bones!"

"Hi, Parker. Your dad is in the living room. Go say hi to him."

Brennan closed the door just as Parker screamed "Daddy" and took off down the hall. "Come on, Rebecca. I'm sure you'd like to see Booth, too."

"Thanks, Dr. Brennan." Rebecca followed her son toward the living room. "Hi, Seeley, it's good to see you."

"Thanks, Rebecca. And thanks for bringing Parker over. I've really missed him." He hugged the boy sitting on his lap and tousled his hair. "So, did you decide about… you know?"

Rebecca held up a small blue and green duffle bag and nodded. "Yes, he can stay here tonight, but I need to pick him up at ten o'clock tomorrow morning. Will that work for you?"

"That's great, Rebecca, thanks. We'll have him ready by ten." Booth sat Parker on the couch so that he could stand up and give Rebecca a hug. "Really, thanks."

Brennan walked with Rebecca to the door, locking it after she left. She tried to keep herself busy, tidying the apartment and starting dinner, so that Booth and Parker could have some time alone. She smiled as their laughter drifted into the kitchen. She peeked around the corner and saw the Booth boys playing Wii Bowling. The six-year-old laughed hysterically as his father bowled rather poorly with his left hand. Booth saw her watching and waved her into the room.

"C'mon, Bones. Come play with us." Booth gave her his charm smile, hoping to convince her. "Please."

"Yeah, please, Bones, play with us." Parker matched his dad's charm smile with one of his own.

Brennan wasn't strong enough to refuse two Booth charm smiles. "Okay, I'll play for a few minutes, but then I have to go check on dinner."

After Wii Bowling, mac and cheese and a couple of Disney movies, Parker and Booth had fallen asleep on the couch. Brennan picked Parker up and carried him to bed. When she returned to the living room, she sat on the floor next to the couch. Watching Booth sleep was her new favorite hobby. He looked more peaceful when sleeping than he ever did when he was awake. She knew she should wake him so that he could move to the bed as sleeping on the couch was never good for his back. She would wake him, just not quite yet.

* * *

Washington, DC – Day 6

Brennan opened the door to a very confused Cam, Hodgins and Angela. She stepped aside so that the trio could enter, but found herself almost nose to nose with Cam as Hodgins and Angela walked through to the living room.

"Dr. Brennan, why are we meeting you here at Booth's apartment? I doubt we are supposed to be here. How did you get in?" Cam crossed her arms over her chest and waited impatiently for Brennan's explanation.

"Cam, I can explain. If we can go into the living room, this will all make sense." Brennan tried to herd Cam toward the living room where Angela and Hodgins waited.

"Please, everyone, have a seat. Everything will be clear in just a moment." Brennan had paused as she passed through the living room toward Booth's bedroom.

She opened the door and stepped back to allow the occupant to walk by her. Booth walked into the living room, where the three were huddled together, whispering. He heard Brennan's named mentioned along with the word 'breakdown.' In an instant, they became silent as first Cam, then Angela and finally Hodgins noticed his presence. The silence lasted few seconds before Angela squealed and Cam stalked toward him. As soon as Cam reached Booth's side, she punched him in the shoulder and then pulled him into a hug.

Booth rubbed her back as she started to cry. "Hi, Camille."

"Seeley, don't you ever do that to me again! And don't call me Camille." Cam was relieved to see her oldest friend, even if she wanted to kill him at the moment.

Booth chuckled at her reaction. "Don't call me Seeley."

Booth looked up just in time to see Angela barreling toward him as she wrapped her arms around both him and Cam.

"You're alive! You're alive! You're alive!" Angela was still squealing and in danger of rupturing his eardrums.

He gave both women a squeeze before releasing them to shake Hodgins's hand.

"Dude. What the hell?" Hodgins smiled and shook his head at Booth, his mind already wondering what government conspiracy was responsible for the agent's 'death.'

Booth looked back over his shoulder where Brennan held herself apart from the group, letting the team have a chance to welcome him home. He held his hand out and wiggled his fingers at her, an invitation to join them. Without a second thought, she walked over and entwined her fingers with his. Once again, Angela squealed, not missing the contact between the partners. And once again, she threw herself at Booth, this time including Brennan in the bear hug.

When Booth was finally able to peel Angela off of them, he took a step back and looked at his friends, touched by their reactions to his return from the dead. "C'mon, guys. Everybody sit down and we'll explain everything."

Booth plopped down in his recliner and pulled Brennan onto his lap as the rest of the team took their seats around the room. Over the next half hour, Booth and Brennan took turns telling the story of the last twelve days, ending with the shootout the cabin the previous day.

"I've got to say, this explains a lot – why we weren't allowed to see your body, why Dr. Brennan suddenly disappeared, why the funeral was canceled," Cam said.

Hodgins was the first to break the silence when the partners had finished. "I've gotta ask. Were you two together before the shooting? Or is this new?"

Booth had expected Angela to be the one to ask, but then again, she usually had a pretty good idea what was going on with Brennan. "Nope, this is new." He kissed the hand that he was still holding and smiled at his girlfriend. _Hmm, might have to rethink that title._

The five friends had been talking for a while, when Angela realized that one of her questions had not been answered. "Uh, guys, did you find out who was responsible for taking Bren's name off the list?"

Booth and Brennan exchanged a look before she answered. "Yes, we did. It was Sweets."

Angela leapt to her feet in outrage. "Sweets! I'm going to kill the kid!"

Hodgins grabbed her hand to keep her from running out the door. "Angie, you can't just go kill him. We need a plan first."

Booth laughed at their reaction. "Thanks, guys, but that's not necessary. Believe me, we wanted to kill him, too. But, we have a better plan. We're after some payback."

Angela's face lit up with an evil grin. "Well, you know what they say about payback. She's a bitch." She pointed to herself. "And here I am. What's the plan?"

"We have a few ideas, but we're open to suggestions." Brennan matched Angela's evil grin with one of her own. "We want all of you to help us. He did this to the whole team, not just me."

Angela was the first to offer a suggestion. "We could call my dad and tell him what Sweets did. You know he thinks of you like family, Bren. He would love to scare the kid to death."

Hodgins liked the idea. "Oh yeah, Billy is one scary dude. He would make Sweets cry." He laughed at the mental picture of Billy dealing with Sweets. "I have my own idea. I have a wonderful collection of tarantulas. I could sneak them into his apartment, even into his bed."

"You know how much he hates my autopsy suite," Cam started, "maybe we could get him drunk, or even slip him a mickey, and put him in one of the drawers. Can you imagine the scream when he wakes up like that?"

"Wow," Booth chuckled, "you guys are really getting into this. We already have a few ideas. Want to hear them?"

The team listened and laughed as Booth explained what they had planned. They offered suggestions to increase Sweets's torture. By the time everyone left that night, their plans were in place. Once Brennan and Booth both returned to work, it all would be put into action.

* * *

_A/N - Hi, everyone! I know you were probably hoping for some Sweets torture. That's coming up soon, just not quite yet. I've slightly reworked the outline and there will be a total of 12 chapters (including epilogue). This is my first story to reach 100 reviews and I am honored that each of you take the time to read and review. Thanks for all of the favs, follows and reviews. Let me know what you think about this chapter in that little box below. ~ craftyjhawk_


	9. Reappearance

_A/N - I did not plan on updating this story so soon, but I have to admit, it is so much fun to write. I just couldn't resist. _

_Just to be clear, we have skipped a day with B&B. Nothing important happened during that day. Trust me. _

* * *

Washington, DC – Day 8

"Dr. Brennan, I heard you were back at work. I'm happy to see you're returning to your routine." Lance Sweets stood at the stairs to the platform, waiting for someone to swipe him in.

Brennan glanced over her shoulder, but did not move away from the remains that she was examining. "Yes, I find that maintaining a routine is very important."

"I tried to contact you over the past week to see if you wanted to discuss your feelings regarding Agent Booth's death. You never answered when I called." _Is she really going to make me stand down here while we talk?_

Brennan turned around to fully face Sweets. She nailed him with a glare under which he wanted to whither. Only his strongest resolve kept him from looking away. "My partner died, Sweets. Those are my feelings on the subject." Having made herself quite clear, she returned to the remains awaiting her attention. "And I did not answer your calls because I was out of town visiting my brother."

_Gotcha!_ "That's a lie, Dr. Brennan. Angela told me that she had called Russ and he said that you weren't there." Sweets felt a little superior, thinking he had the upper hand in the conversation.

"I asked him not to reveal my presence to anyone." Brennan didn't bother to look in his direction. She was more than ready to be done with the conversation. "I no longer wanted to be on display for people to try to analyze my reaction to Booth's death. Now, if you have no further questions, I have work to do."

_On display? Analyzing reactions? She couldn't possibly know, could she? _"Oh, of course. If you'd like to talk later, just give me a call. I can always make room in my schedule for you." _Like that is going to happen. I'll have to arrange to be around when she sees Booth. That's the only way I will get to see an honest reaction from her._

Brennan waited until she was positive that Sweets had left the lab before relaxing her stiff posture. Angela and Cam must have been waiting for Sweets to leave also, because as soon as the doors slid closed, they were out of their offices and making their way toward the platform.

"Did you hear all of that?" Brennan looked anxious, not sure if she had been convincing enough with Sweets.

"Sweetie, you did great!" Angela pulled her friend into a one-armed hug. "He totally believed you! I could see him sweating bullets from my office." She held her hand up before Brennan could question the idiom. "He was extremely nervous, Bren. You were very convincing."

"She's right, Dr. Brennan. I think he expected you to be falling apart and was surprised to see you so in control." Cam smiled reassuringly at the anthropologist. She knew that Brennan always doubted her own ability to read people.

* * *

Brennan unlocked the door to her apartment and was surprised when a delicious aroma enveloped her senses. She dropped her messenger bag on the floor, her keys in the bowl and kicked her shoes off before going in search of Booth. The previous evening they had relocated to her apartment since people would expect her to be there.

Brennan wandered into the living room and found Booth just waking from a nap.

"Hi, you're home." He smiled at her as she walked around the couch and sat down next to him. "I missed you." He wove his fingers through her hair as he pulled her into a deep kiss.

"Mmm, I missed you, too." She could get used to coming home to him every day. She was already more than half way there. "Is that dinner I smell?"

"Yep. I saw you had a vegetarian lasagna in the freezer. It should be ready in about twenty minutes." He gave her another quick kiss before sitting up. "So, did you see Sweets today?"

She nodded with an evil grin on her face. "Yes, he came by to check up on me today. He asked if I wanted to talk about your death." She flexed her hands as if making a fist. "I just don't understand how he can act like that. It's as if he has no guilt about what he has done. When this is over, I refuse to see him professionally again. There is no way I could ever trust him, especially the way he tries to insert himself into our private lives."

"You're right, Bones. If the FBI wants us to continue partners' therapy, and that's very likely once they find out we are together, then they are going to have to assign a different psychologist." He stood and pulled her up with him. He wrapped his arms around her and leaned in close to her ear. "So, I'm not really hungry yet. Are you?"

She shivered as his breath ghosted across her neck. "Um, uh, no, I'm not…"

"Well, then, how about I go pull the lasagna out of the oven and we can eat later? I can think of some other ways to keep us occupied and work up an appetite." He kissed the spot behind her ear that he knew would make her melt.

"That sounds like an excellent idea. What did you have in mind?"

"Hmm, I think I'd rather show you." He kissed her one more time before walking toward the bedroom. He looked over his shoulder to see if she was following and waggled his eyebrows at her. That prompted her into action and had her rushing after him.

* * *

Washington, DC – Day 9

Sweets heard through the FBI grapevine that Booth had returned to the Hoover. After his disastrous encounter with Dr. Brennan the previous day, he was looking forward to seeing Booth. With any luck, he could be present when the team learned the news. Giving a quick knock on the door, he entered Booth's office.

"Agent Booth! I'm happy to see you looking so well. I didn't expect you back at work so soon."

"I may be on desk duty, but I'm back." Grinning, he continued, "Daytime TV is horrible. Even being stuck at my desk doing paperwork is better than that."

_Time to make my play. _"Does the team know yet?" Sweets hoped he hadn't missed it.

"Nope. I was just heading over to surprise everyone. Want to come with me?" Booth already knew the answer, but he had to play his part.

Sweets couldn't believe his luck. He didn't even have to ask to accompany the agent to the Jeffersonian. "Sure!" _There's no way I'm passing up a chance to observe everyone's reactions._

"Great! Let's go! I can't wait to see the team." Booth rubbed his hands together. "They'll be surprised. Well, Bones won't be, since she was on my list, but the rest of the team will be."

Sweets hesitated before following Booth as the reality of what he had done finally hit him. They were heading for the moment when his decision would be revealed. He was relieved that no one knew it had been **his** decision.

"Sweets! Come one! I'm not waiting for you." Booth was already standing in the elevator, holding the door open for Sweets.

Sweets followed Booth into the lab, ready to stand back and watch the show. He looked on as Booth walked up to the scanner, swiped his card and... nothing happened. Booth's card had been deactivated upon his 'death.'

"Hiya, Bones!" Booth shouted toward the platform, hands on his hips and a huge smile on his face. "My card isn't working. Can someone come swipe me in?"

The team was standing on the platform, huddled around Hodgins's station as he explained the results of his latest test. As a unit, they turned toward the sound of Booth's voice. Angela squealed and ran to hug the agent. Cam waited until Booth had pulled away from Angela before approaching him. She stopped directly in front of him, crossed her arms and glared at him.

"What the hell, Seeley? You let us think you are dead for two weeks and then walk in here and say 'hiya'? How could you do that?" Cam refused to break eye contact with him until he showed some remorse. She clenched her fists in an effort to refrain from punching him.

"Hello to you, Camille. Missed you, too." He smirked as she gave in and gave him a hug. "So, uh, why doesn't my card work?"

"Booth, you were dead. Why would the Jeffersonian keep your card active? You'll have to talk to security about having it reactivated." She turned on her heel, swiped her card and marched back up to the platform.

Booth, reacting quickly, was right on Cam's heels as she climbed the steps. He looked over at Hodgins, who gave him a wave and said, "Hey, man, good to see you."

The last person Booth made eye contact with was Temperance Brennan. The rest of the team had been very convincing. Now, it's was Brennan's turn to give the performance of her lifetime, up to this point anyway.

"Bones! Aren't you glad to see me?" He walked toward her with his arms outspread, ready to wrap her in a hug.

Seeing his intention, she held a hand up to stop him in his tracks. "Yes, Booth, I'm pleased to see that you are alive. I would just rather have this discussion in private."

"Why, Bones? It's not like you didn't know what was really going on. Right?"

"No, Booth, I did not know. How would I have known otherwise? As far I'm concerned, you have been dead for the last two weeks." Brennan stalked toward him, stopping when they were toe to toe, crossed her arms and waited.

Sweets flinched. He hadn't expected the conversation to go in this direction, at least not yet. He thought Dr. Brennan would be relieved to see Booth. Instead, she seemed very angry. _This is not good, not good at all. Didn't she miss him? She was supposed to realize how much Booth meant to her. _

Booth could feel the fury radiating off of Brennan. _Maybe she won't have to do as much acting as I thought she would. This seems very real. _"I gave a list to the Bureau of people to be informed. You were on the list along with Rebecca and Parker, Pops and Jared. I would never put you through that, Bones. You were supposed to know."

"Well, obviously, someone else at the Bureau had no problem with it." She uncrossed her arms and poked him in the chest with one slender finger. "**You** should have called. I shouldn't have to hear it from a random agent." Another poke to the chest. "**You** should have been the one to tell me. You told me that you would never betray me." She crossed her arms again, almost a hug as if to protect herself. "By keeping me in the dark, you have betrayed me. I can **never** trust you again." Her tone turned from anger to sadness and back to anger in a heartbeat. "Do we have a case? No? Then **you** need to get **out** of my lab."

Having felt that she had thoroughly dismissed Booth, she turned away from him, and with her head held high, she walked across the platform, down the stairs and to her office. In a momentary lapse which again revealed her emotional state, she slammed her office door closed, shutting the rest of the world out.

Booth stood dumbfounded for a moment before leaving the way he had entered, shaking his head and mumbling under his breath. As he passed by, Sweets was only able to make out the words 'stubborn scientist' before Booth passed through the glass doors.

_Oh, shit! Oh, shit! Oh, shit! What have I done? _Sweets inner panic was fighting its way out when the rest of the team noticed him. Hodgins saw that the psychologist looked shell-shocked and took pity on him.

"Hey, Sweets! Is Booth your ride?" Sweets nodded. "Then, don't you think you should go catch him? Otherwise, you're going to be walking back to the Hoover." Hodgins turned back to what he was doing, effectively shutting Sweets out.

Sweets realized that Hodgins had a valid point and jogged out of the lab toward the parking deck. Hodgins looked over his shoulder until he was sure that Sweets was gone and signaled Brennan that it was safe to leave her office. She held up a finger, letting him know that she would be out in a minute.

Brennan pulled her cell phone from her pocket and dialed Booth's office number. She waited for it to ring through to voice mail, speaking after the tone. "Booth, I'm sorry. I didn't intend to get so mad. I'm not mad at you, just the situation and especially Sweets. I'm sorry that I took it out on you. I'll see you after work, right? I love you."

* * *

Booth knocked on Brennan's door before checking to see if it was unlocked. It was, of course, because she was never as cautious about her own safety as she was about others.

"Bones, I'm home." He loved how easily the word 'home' fell from his mouth. He had already discovered that home was wherever she was. "Where are you?"

She walked from her bedroom to the kitchen hesitantly. She hadn't heard from him since leaving that voice mail and wasn't sure if he was mad at her or not. She stopped three feet in front of him, hands in her pockets, looking at the floor. In a single step, he was in front of her, lifting her chin with a finger and making sure she was focused on him before speaking.

"I'm not mad, baby. I thought you were being very convincing." He pulled her into a hug and laid his cheek on top of her head. "If there was real anger in the middle of all of that, it's okay, even if you were mad at me. I know you love me and we can deal with anything else. Right?"

More relieved than she imagined she could be, she nodded and hugged him back. They remained locked together until a knock at the door startled them. Panic flashed across her face. Booth pulled away and pointed down the hall, indicating that he would stay out of sight while she answered the door.

Waiting for Booth to get in position, she checked the peephole and groaned. She violently threw the door open and surprised her visitor.

"What do you want?" she snapped at Sweets. "You are disturbing my evening."

Immediately put on the defensive, Sweets was flustered. "May I come in, Dr. Brennan? I thought we could discuss what happened with Agent Booth today?"

"Sweets, I have no intention of discussing it with you, especially not on my own time. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to check on something in the kitchen. Good night, Sweets." None too gently, she slammed the door in his face and turned the deadbolt with as much force as she could muster.

"So, am I what you need to check in the kitchen?" Booth was leaning against the wall, arms and ankles crossed, eyes twinkling.

"As a matter of fact, yes, you are." She walked to him, slipped his loosened tie over his head and started unbuttoning his shirt. "I need to check your wound."

"That is not what I meant, Bones, not at all." He laughed as she pulled his shirt free from his slacks. "Now, that's more like it." He stood still as she slipped his shirt off of his shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. Gently, she peeled his bandage off. Reassuring herself that he had done no damage to it during the day, she placed a kiss near it.

"I can't believe that he showed up here." The irritation she had shown to Sweets was very real.

"I think we've got the kid running scared, Bones. He knows he screwed up. He's just waiting for the other shoe to drop."

"Well, he won't have to wait very long."

* * *

_A/N2 - If you were wondering when we would be getting back to really torturing Sweets, you won't have to wait very long. Just until the next chapter. _

_Thanks for reading and reviewing! It's great to know that I'm not the only one who would have like to see a different treatment of Sweets on the show. ~ craftyjhawk_


	10. Regrets

_A/N - Before we get to the new chapter, I just to point out that this chapter takes place after the events of chapters 2 and 5. If you don't remember how the true torture of Sweets began, you might want to take a look at those chapters. You might want to anyway, because it's really fun to watch him squirm. If you agree with that statement, then you should enjoy this chapter. _

_Disclaimer - (because I haven't said it in a while) I don't own Bones or it's characters. I do occasionally play with them. Shh, don't tell HH._

* * *

Washington, DC – Day 11

Lance Sweets clutched his coffee cup as he walked into the Hoover. He hoped that the double shot of espresso would keep him awake. If not, he would be napping at his desk by lunch.

After speaking with Cullen the previous day, Sweets had gone to Booth's apartment in hopes of getting the Booth and Brennan partnership heading in the right direction, as in together, not apart. Booth hadn't been home when Sweets arrived. He considered it vital that he speak to Booth as soon as possible, so he waited in his car for Booth to come home. He waited all night long. He had no idea where the agent had spent the night, but he knew it wasn't in his own apartment. At seven o'clock, Sweets had finally given up hope of talking to Booth and had gone home to shower before going to work.

As he rode the elevator to his floor, he fervently hoped that it would be a quiet, conflict-free day. He considered the possibility that Booth and Brennan had been together the night before, talking out their differences. As far as he was concerned, that would be the best scenario for everyone. He was quickly losing confidence that he would be able to mend their relationship.

Unlocking his office door and flicking on the lights as he entered, he wondered if he could reschedule his morning appointments. He was exhausted and in no condition to help anyone. Just as he sat down at his computer to check his schedule for the day, his office phone rang.

"Dr. Lance Sweets." He hadn't bothered looking at the caller ID, which he regretted as soon as the caller spoke.

"Dr. Sweets, this is Dr. Saroyan. What have you done to my forensic anthropologist?" Cam voice was clipped as she spoke.

"Wha- What do you mean? I haven't done anything to Dr. Brennan!" His stomach dropped as he realized that Cam must know his secret.

"Dr. Brennan just informed me that she is leaving the Jeffersonian. She is leaving the country in two days to join a dig in Mongolia. She will be gone for six months and doesn't intend to come back to the Jeffersonian when she returns." Cam paused to let Sweets absorb that information. "So, Sweets, what are you going to do about it?"

"Me? How is this my fault?" _She knows! If Cam knows, then so do Brennan and Booth and I'm a dead man! _"I haven't done anything to her!" Sweets's voice squeaked as he tried to defend himself.

"Dr. Brennan said that you have been hounding her to discuss Booth, both while we thought he was dead and since he has returned. She has told you that she does not want to discuss him, yet you have still pestered her. She has had enough."

Sweets breathed a short sigh of relief. _Thank god, she doesn't know! _ "I was just offering my help to Dr. Brennan. That's all!"

"Well, Sweets, what are you going to do about it? My anthropologist is leaving the country and it seems to be your fault. I don't care what you have to do, fix this!"

Sweets stared at the phone in his hand and realized that Cam had hung up on him. As he replaced the receiver, he realized that his theory regarding Booth's whereabouts the previous night was incorrect. If they had worked things out, Brennan would not be running off to a dig in Mongolia.

No longer tired, fueled by the adrenaline Cam's phone call had released in him, he went in search of Booth. He gave up on his hope of a conflict-free day. Too impatient to wait for the elevator, Sweets jogged down the steps to Booth's fourth floor office. Turning the corner, he saw that the door was closed, the lights were off. Booth wasn't at work and it was almost ten o'clock. Tardiness was not something he would attribute to Booth, who, in many ways, still clung to his military training.

He pulled his cell phone from the inner pocket of his suit coat and dialed the number that he most wanted to avoid at the moment. He started speaking as soon as the call was answered.

"Dr. Saroyan, I know I just spoke with you and I will speak with Dr. Brennan, but I need to know if you have spoken with Agent Booth since yesterday I haven't been able to locate him." Sweets was so afraid that Cam would hang up on him, he spoke in one long, run-on sentence.

"No, Sweets, I haven't spoken to Booth. If you have broken him, then you better fix him, too." For the second time in less than fifteen minutes, Cam Saroyan hung up on Lance Sweets. For the second time in less than fifteen minutes, Lance Sweets wondered what he should do next.

* * *

After spending two hours playing 'avoid the director' in his office, Sweets returned to the stairwell, walked down to the ground floor and exited the building in search of lunch. On his way out, he nearly bumped into Booth, who was on his way in. Sweets took in Booth's appearance – rumpled suit, mussed hair, full day's growth of beard, same tie as the day before – and knew the agent had yet to go home.

"Agent Booth! Where've you been? I went to your apartment last night, but you weren't home."

"What are you doing, Sweets, checking up on me?" Booth's indignant tone sent up a red flag for Sweets.

"No, not checking up on you. I just wanted to talk to you about Dr. Brennan." Sweets held his hands up, trying to placate the apparently agitated agent.

Booth scoffed. "I'm glad I wasn't home then. There is nothing to talk about. The partnership is over. It's just time for everyone to move on."

"Did you know that Dr. Brennan is leaving the Jeffersonian? She is going to a dig in Mongolia." _Surely, this will snap him out of whatever he has going on. If not, I'm not sure how to get through to him. _Sweets's panic was growing by leaps and bounds with every passing second.

Booth chuckled at the news. "Good for her! She'll probably be happier dealing with dead people rather than having to deal with us live ones. She always been more comfortable with bones than flesh." Booth began fidgeting with the pair of dice in his pocket, seemingly anxious to end this conversation quickly.

Sweets dropped the Brennan bomb that he had held back. "Dr. Saroyan doesn't believe that Dr. Brennan will return to the Jeffersonian. You need to stop her. If she goes, you'll never be able to repair your partnership."

"I was thinking about transferring anyway." Booth shrugged, dismissing the psychologist's concern. "So, really, her leaving, not big a problem. Guess I don't need to worry about that transfer if she won't be in DC."

Sweets was floored by Booth's lack of concern over Brennan. It seemed to be an indicator of a bigger problem. "So, where were you last night, Agent Booth? You're acting like you have something to hide."

"If you must know, I was in Atlantic City." Booth traded the dice for the poker chip and began to flip and catch it. "I just needed to blow off some steam after dealing with Brennan yesterday."

Sweets's mouth dropped open and his eyes were the size of saucers. "You were in Atlantic City! You were gambling! How could you do that?" _No shit, there's a bigger problem here. If Booth is gambling, well, I just don't know…_

Booth shook his head. "Oh, don't worry about it, Sweets. I've got it all under control. It's a one-time thing."

"Isn't that what all addicts say when they've had a lapse." Sweets prodded Booth, trying to decide just how much trouble he was in.

"Stay out of it Sweets, it's none of your business!" Booth pushed his way past Sweets and stormed into the Hoover.

Sweets watched him go and wondered where everything had gone so horribly wrong.

* * *

Sweets lost his appetite after his encounter with Booth. With his current stress level, he'd probably be lucky to survive the day without having a massive heart attack or stroke. He couldn't believe there was so much fallout from one tiny decision. He had stopped worrying about his book. He wasn't even concerned about his career. If it was over, then it was over. His only concern now was the destructive, life-altering decisions that his two favorite patients were making.

He had tried to get Booth to see reason and utterly failed. It was time to take another run at Brennan. Maybe the news of Booth's gambling relapse would convince her to stay in DC and help him. With his new objective, he drove to the Jeffersonian with the intention of forcing Brennan to listen to him.

"Dr. Brennan? I know I'm probably the last person you want to see, but I need to talk to you. About Agent Booth." Sweets tried, with great difficulty, to keep the panic out of his voice.

"Sweets, I already to you that I don't want to talk about Booth. I need to start packing up my office. If you haven't heard, I'm leaving in two days to join a dig in Mongolia. My partnership with Booth is no longer relevant." Brennan turned her back to Sweets as she took an ancient statue off of her shelves and wrapped it in bubble wrap.

"You don't understand, Dr. Brennan. Booth spent the night in Atlantic City. He is gambling again. You can't leave the country. He needs your helps." Sweets pleaded with Brennan, out of other options.

"Neither Agent Booth nor his gambling are any of my concern. I really do need to pack. As we seem to be finished here, you can be on your way." Without him realizing it, Brennan had taken him by the elbow and led him to her office door. When she finished speaking, she gave him a final push out the door then closed and locked it.

"Sweets!" Cam strode across the lab with determination in each step. "I see you talked to Dr. Brennan. Did you fix it? Is she staying?"

"No, she's not. She wouldn't even discuss it." Sweets hung his head, unable to look at Cam. "Not even after I told her that Booth was gambling again."

"What!" Cam's voice carried across the lab. "Gambling? You can't be serious. He gave it up for good. Things between them are worse than I thought if he has gone back to gambling."

"I know. I tried to talk to him about it, but he absolutely refused. He told me he has it all under control."

Cam rolled her eyes. "I've heard that before. He's in denial." She glanced toward Brennan's office and saw that she appeared to be packing her artifacts. Looking back at Sweets, she shook her head in hopelessness. "Look, I know he's my friend, but I'm with Brennan on this. He should have called her himself to tell her the whole thing was a fake. Then he wouldn't have had to rely on some nameless, faceless agent to tell her. She deserved to hear it from him. And if he's gambling now? Well, that's just one more reason for her not to trust him, as far as I'm concerned."

"Dr. Saroyan, you can't mean that! She is probably the only one who can help him with his addiction. She's the only one he listens to." There was no other word to describe how he felt, he was desperate. The situation continued to deteriorate every time he turned around. He was at a complete loss and could only stand and stare at Cam.

"If that's the case, Sweets, then we've probably lost them both." She walked away from a very broken psychologist, leaving him to accept what was quickly becoming their new reality.

* * *

Booth glanced at his buzzing phone.

_Incoming text form Bones:_

_Will I see you tonight? I missed you today._

He picked up his phone, thumbed it open and sent a reply text.

_I'll be over soon. Missed you, too._

He dropped his phone back on the bar, picked up his glass and threw back the finger of scotch that remained in it. As he sat the glass back down, his phone buzzed again.

_Incoming text from Bones:_

_Where are you? Are you alright?_

He rubbed his hand over his face. He should have known that she notice a difference. He hadn't gone to her place after work, which was clue enough.

_At Founding Fathers. I'm fine. Just needed to think._

He signaled the bartender for one final drink.

_Incoming text from Bones:_

_Think about what? _

He realized that he had worried her which made him feel even worse. He regretted the things that he had said about her to Sweets earlier in the day. Even though they weren't true, he had hated himself as he said them.

_Don't worry. I'll explain when I get there. See you soon. Love you._

Between the things he had said about Brennan and pretending to gamble again, he wasn't proud of his actions this day. He told himself that it was all necessary in order to teach Sweets a lesson.

_Incoming text from Bones:_

_OK. I trust you. I love you, too._

That's really what this was all about. It might look and feel like revenge, but it was really to teach the kid lesson. He knew nothing about partners or team work. Instead of becoming part of the team and working toward their common goal, Sweets used them all like pawns, moving them around on his own personal chessboard, waiting to see what happened. If he was going to continue to work for the FBI, then this was a gap in his education that Booth intended to fill.

Booth felt better after thinking things through. He would go home, tell Brennan about his talk with Sweets and ask her to forgive him for the things he had had to say. Then he would put the day behind him and move on to the next phase in the plan. He picked up his glass and drained it. After throwing some cash on the bar, he gathered his phone, lighter, dice and poker chip off the bar, slipped them back into his pockets and went home to his girlfriend.

* * *

_A/N2 - Well, dear readers, only two updates remain - one chapter and an epilogue. I am still blown away by the response to this story. You've all been so great to fav, follow and review. Many, many thanks to you all! ~ craftyjhawk_


	11. Resolution

Washington, DC – Day 12

Lance Sweets had endured another sleepless night. Physically, he was exhausted. Mentally, his thoughts were caught in a seemingly infinite loop – his decision to keep Brennan in the dark, the fallout of that decision, what he could do to rectify the situation. Round and round his mind traveled the loop without a solution to be found. The only conclusion that he had reached during the long night was that a moment of arrogance had lit a fuse that could potentially destroy two lives. It was a heavy burden for the psychologist to bear.

Sweets showered and dressed, while mentally preparing himself for the day ahead. Stumbling into the kitchen, he took his largest travel mug from the cabinet and filled it to the brim with black coffee. He would need large quantities of undiluted caffeine to function in the day ahead. He downed half the quantity in the mug and refilled it. Checking the time, he realized that he needed to stop procrastinating and leave for work. Gathering his briefcase along with the little bit of self-respect and courage that he could muster, he squared his shoulders and

"Are you sure we're okay, Bones?"

Booth rested his chin on Brennan's shoulder as his arms encircled her waist. He had come home from Founding Fathers the night before and told her everything that had happened between him and Sweets. She, in turn, confessed everything that she had said to Sweets about Booth. They knew that they had done what needed to be done. No apologies were required.

Brennan turned within his arms to face him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "We are fine. Really. Neither of us meant what we said to Sweets. Stop feeling guilty. Please."

"You're right. I'll try to let it go. In the meantime, we need to get ready for work. I wish we could ride in together, but that will have to wait until this is all over. Not too much longer, right?"

"I hope not. I'm going to go shower." She gave him a kiss before pulling away and walking toward the bathroom.

"Need some help? Some company? Water conservation! That's it! We should shower together to conserve water." Booth jogged to catch up after she shot him a 'what are you waiting for' look over her shoulder.

* * *

Sweets felt as if were on a death march when he entered the Hoover that morning. He had a mental list of tasks to be accomplished and none of them would be pleasant. He was focused but unhurried as he made his way to his office. He took a detour through the break room to once again fill his travel mug. With a wry smile on his lips, he wished he could mainline the stuff, it might be more effective that way.

When he reached his office, he was almost robotic as he went through his usual routine – unlocking the door, flicking on lights, booting up his computer. It wasn't until he sat down at his desk that the apprehension he had been feeling all morning made a return. One short phone call later and he had an appointment to meet with Deputy Director Cullen at one o'clock. A quick glance at the clock told him that he had three and a half hours to complete the rest of the tasks on his checklist. Next up, canceling his appointments for the rest of the week. Emails sent, another item checked off. Switching from Outlook to Word, he quickly typed a few short sentences and clicked the print button. Grabbing the page from the printer, he signed, folded and slid it into an envelope which he placed in his jacket pocket. The last of the easy tasks now completed, he pushed himself to the next one. The only way he would make it through the day was to keep moving. If he stopped, he would get mired in the fear and cease to function.

* * *

"Booth," he barked into the phone in his usual way.

"It's me. Have you seen him yet?" Brennan had refrained from calling for as long as she could. Not knowing what was going at the Hoover was distracting her from the remains on her exam table.

Booth smiled and turned his back toward his office door when he heard her voice. "Hi, babe. Nope, haven't heard from him. Maybe he's not ready to crack yet."

"I doubt that, Booth. He seemed very distraught yesterday."

"I know. I hope he does make a move today. I am more than ready for our lives to get back to normal. Well, normal for us."

A knock on his door caught his attention. When he saw his visitor, he was glad that his door was closed. Holding up a finger, indicating he would be off the phone in just a minute, he turned his back to the door again.

"Hey, I've got to go. It's show time. I'll talk to you soon." Lowering his voice to ensure he wasn't overheard, he whispered, "I love you."

"I love you, too. Bye."

* * *

After they had both hung up, Brennan gave up all pretense of working and started pacing her office. She shared Booth's sentiment, she was ready for this to be over. Her life had been turned upside down for more than two weeks. Getting back to normal sounded very appealing.

"Hey, Sweetie," Angela greeted Brennan as she walked into her best friend's office. "Have you heard from Booth yet?"

"I just talked to him. I think Sweets was there. He said something about it being show time before he hung up."

"Oh boy! I wish I could be there. I'd love to see the kid squirm under Booth's glare." Angela's eyes twinkled at the thought.

"Angela, this isn't only about getting back at Sweets. Booth wants him to understand what it means to be part of a team."

"I know, Bren. But, the revenge part? That's the part I'm enjoying."

Brennan couldn't help but laugh at the smile Angela flashed her. "Come, Ange, we need to find something to distract me. I can't concentrate on work right now."

"Grab your purse, Bren. I have the perfect distraction for you. Shopping!" She walked out of the office, leaving Brennan to catch up with her.

* * *

"Agent Booth, do you have time to talk now?" Sweets had opened Booth's door, but had yet to enter the office.

"Sure, Sweets, come on in." Booth flashed a smile and motioned for Sweets to join him. He briefly wondered which route Sweets would take, avoidance or confession. Either way Booth was ready for him.

_Now or never, I suppose._ Sweets took a seat across from Booth's desk and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm his nerves before he began. He must have taken too long, because Booth broke the silence of the room.

"What's up, Sweets? You look like hell. Did you spend last night in Atlantic City?" Booth chuckled at the agonized look that crossed Sweets face. He knew the kid was feeling guilty about his 'relapse.'

"Uh, no, of course not, Agent Booth." Sweets couldn't bring himself to look at Booth. Instead, he chose a point just over Booth's shoulder and kept his focus there. "I need to talk to you about what happened during your fake death."

"Okay, what about it. You didn't have anything to do with that." Booth continued to get his digs in where he could. After the week of hell that Sweets had put Brennan through, he was not going to make this easy.

"Actually, I did." He held up his hand to stop Booth's next interruption. "Can I please just say this? Once I'm done, you can say or do whatever you want." Booth nodded and motioned for Sweets to continue. "I am the person responsible for Dr. Brennan not being informed of the situation. I chose to remove her name from the list. Director Cullen was unaware of my actions."

Sweets paused to give Booth a chance to speak. Booth however, remained silent, leaning back in his chair, with his arms crossed. Sweets recognized his expression as the one he used in interrogations, when he was waiting for the suspect to break and tell everything that he knew.

"Dr. Brennan always compartmentalizes her emotions. I thought that she would have to deal with her feelings for you if she thought you were dead." He finally looked at Booth. "I didn't stop to consider how the deception would affect her. I didn't realize that she would see it as a betrayal." He broke away from Booth's glare and stared at the floor.

"So, this was all just an experiment to you? You just wanted to see if she could feel something? Is that it?" Booth's voice was harsh, full of anger and disappointment.

"Yeah, it was." Sweets felt so small. He had come to realize how incredibly selfish he had been, all in the name of his book. "I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt. I didn't -"

"You didn't think, Sweets!" Booth stood and slammed both hands on his desk. "You know her history. You know how hard it is for her to trust people. You know that she trusts **me**. Me! The one person who promised to always be there for her, to never betray her."

He leaned over his desk toward Sweets, who shrunk in the chair, trying to make himself a smaller target for Booth's wrath. "She trusted **me**! Who are **you** to put yourself in the middle of our partnership like that? Partners have to trust each other. I would trust her with my life. I **have** trusted her with my life. She has saved my life, more than once. She trusted me with her life, which was completely justified because I have saved her more than once. I saved her the night I stepped in front of that bullet."

Booth sat down, out of steam, emotionally exhausted, but he still had more to say. "Thanks to you, she had to live with the guilt that I died in her place. Thanks to you, she was blindsided when she found out I was alive. And thanks to you, she had reason to doubt me."

"I know, Booth, I know." The enormity of his mistake hit Sweets like a baseball bat to the head. Booth had made points that he hadn't yet considered. "I'm doing what I can, Booth. I can't make this up to you or Dr. Brennan, but I am doing what I can to make the situation better."

"That's good to hear. You know that we aren't your patients anymore, right? **That's** never going to happen again." Sweets nodded in understanding. "You need to talk to Cullen about this."

"I am. I have an appointment with him," he checked his watch, "in twenty minutes."

"Well, then you should probably get going." Booth remained seated as Sweets stood and walked across his office.

"Hey, Agent Booth, are we okay?" Sweets kicked himself for asking, but he needed to know where he stood with the agent.

"No, Sweets, we're not. Don't be late for your meeting with Cullen." Booth picked his cell phone up off of his desk, thumbed it open and pressed speed dial one. When he saw that Sweets was still standing in the doorway, he turned his back to him, dismissing him.

* * *

Lance Sweets sat in the reception area of Deputy Director Cullen's office. He still had ten minutes until his appointment, but he was ready to get it over with. This was the last task on his mental list and once it was completed, he could put his whole fiasco behind him.

"Dr. Sweets, Deputy Director Cullen will see you now." Cullen's assistant, Hazel, jarred Sweets from his musings with a smile and waved her hand toward the door.

"Yes, thank you, Hazel." Sweets stood, rubbing his sweaty palms on his slacks. Straightening to his full height, he squared his shoulders and straightened his tie and jacket. He paused at the door long enough to give a quick knock on the door before entering.

"Ah, Dr. Sweets, good to see you. I have been expecting to hear from you." Cullen shuffled some papers on his desk and uncovered a notepad on which to take notes. "So, were you able to discover who removed Dr. Brennan's name from the list?"

"Sir, I, uh, already knew who was responsible." Mustering his last ounce of courage, he looked Cullen in the eye before continuing. "Sir, it was me. I made the decision not to inform Dr. Brennan."

Cullen lack of reaction made Sweets uneasy. Sweets realized that Cullen was just as skilled at Booth at waiting out a suspect. Unable to tolerate the silence any longer, Sweets continued.

"I wanted to gauge her reaction to Agent Booth's death for my book. I didn't consider what could happen to their partnership." Sweets removed the envelope from his jacket pocket and slid it across the desk to Cullen. "In light of everything that has happened, I believe that this is the only action I can take." Sweets stood and shook Cullen's hand before walking toward the door. He stopped before exiting the office and turned back toward Cullen. "Thank you, sir, for the opportunity. It's been an honor." Sweets left without looking back.

* * *

"He resigned? I was not expecting that." Brennan snuggled in closer to Booth as they reclined on the couch.

"I was surprised, too. I was expecting Cullen to slap some disciplinary measures on him and that would be the end of it. Instead, he walked into Cullen's office, resignation in hand. From what Hazel told me, he didn't even give Cullen a chance to talk him into staying." Booth's fingers lazily drew circles on Brennan's hip, smiling as she began to squirm.

"What did Sweets say when you told him that we already knew?"

"I didn't tell him. I was going to, but I got a little distracted." He slid his fingers up, under the hem of her shirt and ghosted them across her midriff. "I got caught up in my anger and by the time I realized I hadn't told him, he was long gone. I tried calling him, but he didn't answer. Maybe I'll go by his apartment tomorrow."

"That is a good idea. I don't want him to think that he split us up." She smiled at Booth as a thought occurred to her. "If anything, he helped to push us together."

"Yeah, he kinda did, not that I'm going to thank him or anything. He did put you through hell, after all. It's going to take me a long time to forget that." He reached up and brushed a lock of hair off her face before placing a kiss on her forehead. "I hate that he hurt you. I plan on spending the rest of my life making it up to you."

"Booth, you have nothing to make up to me. However, the evidence has shown me that I don't want to live my life without you. I like the sound of spending the rest of my life with you, even though I have no way of knowing how long that will be."

"Good to know, baby, because I don't intend to ever let you get away." Booth waggled his eyebrows, shot her a charm smile, and made her an offer she couldn't refuse. "So, would you like me to show you how I intend to spend the next thirty, forty or fifty years?"

Before she even had a chance to answer, he had hopped up off the couch, scooped her into his arms and headed for his bedroom while she squealed in delight.

* * *

_A/N - Well, was that what you expected? It was the plan all along. I said I would make Sweets pay, right? Tonight you get a two for one - this chapter and the epilogue. And I will mark this story complete. It has been so much fun to write and I hope you have enjoyed reading just as much. Thanks to all of you dear readers, you just been wonderful! And, now I give you the epilogue... ~ craftyjhawk_


	12. Epilogue

Washington, DC – Six Months Later

Lance Sweets was back in DC for the first time since leaving the Bureau. After the disastrous results of his experiment, he had resigned from the FBI and stopped practicing altogether. He had returned to Philadelphia and was teaching at Temple University.

When he had first received his friend's wedding invitation, he planned to skip it. After giving it more thought, he decided he would make a long weekend of it. So, here he was, in DC, two days before the wedding, trying to work up the courage to contact Agent Booth or Dr. Brennan while walking around the city that he had once called home.

He stopped at a street corner and realized that he had been walking on autopilot. He was standing outside the Royal Diner for the first time in six months. One stomach rumble later and he was seated at 'their' table. He was almost relieved when a new waitress took his order. There were no questions about where he had been, no comments about how he had been missed.

He should have expected the reaction that he had to being in DC. He couldn't help but revisit the situation with Booth and Brennan while he ate. He was so distracted, he didn't notice the couple when they walked in. It was only when her voice penetrated his haze that he saw them.

"Booth, you have to evidence to support that! What happened to not jumping to conclusions?" Brennan had been looking back over her shoulder as she talked to Booth. When she faced forward again, she saw that their table was occupied and stopped in her tracks.

Booth, who had been signaling their new favorite waitress, Kate, that they wanted two coffees, almost ran into Brennan's back. Following her gaze, he understood her reaction.

"Sweets! What are you doing in town?" Booth smiled and clapped his hand on Sweets's shoulder.

"Hi, Agent Booth, Dr. Brennan. Would you like to join me?"

"Sure, c'mon Bones, let's sit with Sweets." Booth pulled out a chair for her before taking the one next to her.

"I'm in town for a friend's wedding. How are the two of you? You look well." Sweets avoided bringing up the subject of their partnership. If they had managed to work things out, he did not want to bring up the sore subject of their 'break-up.'

"I'm doing well, Dr. Sweets. Thank you." Brennan looked him over as if analyzing him. "So, where are you living now?"

Sweets told them about his position at Temple and his new life in Philadelphia. He mentioned his girlfriend, but not the fact that he was no longer practicing. He asked about the team at the Jeffersonian and agents that he had known at the FBI. By the time he was done filling them in, he had finished his lunch. Neither partner had volunteered any personal information. As the conversation lagged, Sweets decided that it was time for him to move on. He had accomplished his mission of talking to Booth and Brennan and was satisfied that his meddling hadn't irreparably damaged their relationship. Maybe now, he would finally be able to put it all behind him.

"I have to meet up with some friends soon. It was good to see you both." Sweets threw some cash on the table before saying good-bye to his former patients.

As he walked down the sidewalk, he looked back into the diner. He stopped walking, shocked at the sight before him. Booth had moved his chair closer to Brennan's and draped his right arm around her shoulders, holding her close. He whispered something in her ear that made her laugh. Booth leaned in and captured her lips with his own.

"I knew it!" Sweets gave a victorious fist pump. "I knew it! I was right all along." With a smug smile and a bounce in step, he walked away feeling more than a little vindicated.

* * *

_A/N – So, as much as I wanted Sweets to learn a lesson, I'm not sure that he did. Thanks again for reading! And one final thanks to dgschneider for being such an awesome beta. Now that this story is complete, I'll go back to writing 'The Results in the Change' and 'Captive' and maybe a one-shot or three. Thanks again! ~ craftyjhawk_


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